Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, ORTAS–owned outlets, including Syrian News Channel (Al‑Ikhbariyah Syria), temporarily ceased broadcasting amid the regime’s rapid fall. However, under the guidance of the new interim president Ahmed al‑Sharaa, the Syrian News Channel was relaunched on 5 May 2025, resuming satellite broadcasts via Nilesat and Es’hailsat.

Media assets

Television: Al-Ikhbariyah Syria, Nour El-Sham, Syria Drama

Radio: Radio Damascus

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

ORTAS is wholly owned and operated by the Syrian Ministry of Information, which exerts full control over its operations, strategic direction, and management. Decision-making authority rests with the Ministry, and the organization ultimately answers to the Council of Ministers, reinforcing its status as an arm of the Syrian government.

Following the collapse of the Assad regime, ORTAS is now overseen by the Syrian transitional government, established on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al‑Sharaa.

Hamza al‑Mustafa was appointed Minister of Information in the new cabinet in March 2025, and is recognized as an independent figure with media management experience.

Source of funding and budget

Detailed financial data regarding ORTAS remains unavailable, as the Syrian authorities do not routinely disclose budgetary information for state-run institutions. However, based on interviews with Syrian journalists living in exile (conducted in May 2024), ORTAS was believed to be entirely financed by the Syrian state, with no indication of independent revenue streams such as commercial advertising or donor support.

After the collapse of the Assad regime, ORTAS remains entirely state-funded, with its revenue coming from the transitional government.

Editorial independence

ORTAS has historically operated under a strictly pro-government editorial line, with its content shaped by the directives and priorities of the ruling regime. According to Syrian journalists and media scholars based abroad, the broadcaster functioned as a propaganda vehicle, echoing the official discourse and avoiding dissenting or oppositional perspectives. Its journalistic output was therefore perceived by external observers as closely aligned with the political and ideological interests of the now collapsed Assad regime.

Following Assad’s fall, legal reforms and a new interim constitution include language guaranteeing freedom of the press. Some opening has occurred, such as allowing limited operations of independent outlets. Yet, media, including ORTAS, remains subject to strong governmental control. There are repeated reports of harassment, selective bans, and editorial oversight by interim authorities. There is no independent regulatory body to date.

Claims by government supporters of significant pluralism, transparency, and fully independent editorial shifts at ORTAS remain aspirational and not fully realized.

July 2025

Following the collapse of the Assad regime, Al-Watan resumed regular publication in January 2025, publishing mostly on its website and Telegram channel. Its tone remains conservative, though more careful in framing political events. Sama TV returned to broadcasting on satellite platforms in April 2025, largely airing apolitical entertainment content and coverage of post-conflict reconstruction.

Media assets

Television: Sama TV

Publishing: Al Watan, Al-Iqtissadiya

State Media Matrix Typology

Captured Private (CaPr)

Ownership and governance

The company is owned by Rami Makhlouf, a maternal cousin of former President Bashar al-Assad and once regarded as the most powerful businessman in Syria. His name appeared prominently on the UK’s consolidated list of financial sanctions targets, with the last confirmed update referencing him in May 2022. Makhlouf’s business empire extended across a wide range of sectors, including telecommunications, real estate, finance, and aviation. At his peak, The Financial Times estimated that he exercised influence over as much as 60% of the Syrian economy.

Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, the status of Rami Makhlouf’s holdings, including this company, has come under intense scrutiny. While much of his business empire was reportedly frozen or placed under investigation by the transitional authorities, there is no public confirmation to date that the Syrian Arab Publishing and Distributing Company has been formally dissolved or placed under state control.

The transitional government’s Media Oversight Commission, established in May 2025, has stated that investigations are ongoing into media companies connected to sanctioned individuals but has not yet moved to restructure or revoke licenses.

Source of funding and budget

No audited financial information has ever been made publicly available regarding the company or its media outlets. Prior to the fall of the regime, Syrian exile journalists and analysts consistently reported that the company benefited from direct government subsidies, as well as preferential treatment in licensing, advertising, and distribution. However, the precise share of public funding within its operational budget remains unknown.

Since early 2025, transitional government officials have launched investigations into media assets linked to sanctioned individuals, including Makhlouf, but have yet to publish findings. Whether Sama TV and Al-Watan continue to receive any form of public financing under the transitional administration is unclear as of June 2025.

Editorial independence

The company’s media arms — most visibly Sama TV and Al-Watan — have long adopted an unambiguously pro-government editorial stance, often echoing the Assad regime’s talking points with little to no deviation. Their reporting historically focused on portraying opposition forces as extremists, discrediting foreign media coverage, and glorifying state-led military and infrastructure campaigns.

There are no known statutes or regulatory mechanisms in Syria, either past or present, that enforce editorial independence or hold private media accountable to impartial standards. Despite the regime change, Al-Watan and Sama TV continue to operate, though their coverage has become more muted, cautiously aligning with the transitional government’s national unity discourse — while avoiding direct criticism of former regime elites.

July 2025

Media assets

Publishing: Tishreen, Al Thawra, Al Ba’ath, Al Fida, Al Furat, Al Jamahir, Al Wahda, Al Ouruba, Syria Times

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

According to Syrian journalists and academics based abroad who were consulted in May 2024, the Ministry of Information had full ownership and operational control over Al Wahda Foundation. All key appointments, editorial guidelines, and publishing directives emanated directly from the Ministry, reinforcing the foundation’s role as a state-controlled media apparatus.

Following the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, Al Wahda was formally placed under the provisional authority of the Syrian Transitional Government, which assumed temporary custodianship of all public media institutions pending a broader legislative and constitutional reform process. As of June 2025, the Ministry of Information — now led by Hamza al-Mustafa, an independent figure within the transitional cabinet — continues to administer the foundation, though structural reforms are said to be under consideration.

The transitional government’s Media Oversight Commission, established in May 2025, has reportedly launched a comprehensive audit of Al Wahda Foundation’s governance, funding mechanisms, and editorial policies. Findings are expected in late 2025.

Source of funding and budget

Reliable financial data regarding Al Wahda’s operations remains unavailable, as neither the former regime nor the current transitional authorities have published budgetary disclosures. According to sources interviewed for this report in 2024, the foundation was primarily funded through direct government subsidies, while also deriving a modest share of its revenue from advertising contracts, often awarded under opaque or preferential arrangements.

Since the political transition, no substantive change has been reported in its funding structure. However, there have been public calls from civil society groups and press freedom advocates for Al Wahda to publish its accounts and adopt more transparent financial practices as part of Syria’s media reform agenda.

Editorial independence

Throughout the Assad era, Al Wahda’s newspapers adhered rigidly to the regime’s official narrative, offering uncritical coverage of government initiatives while marginalising or vilifying dissenting voices. The editorial line was heavily curated by the Ministry of Information, leaving little room for independent or investigative journalism.

As of mid-2025, there has been no formal statute or institutional mechanism introduced to safeguard editorial independence at Al Wahda. While some newspapers under its banner — particularly Tishreen — have begun to cautiously include more diverse voices and cover transitional government activities, the underlying culture of state-aligned journalism remains deeply entrenched.

July 2025

Media assets

News agency: SANA

State Media Matrix Typology

State-Controlled (SC)

Ownership and governance

Prior to the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, SANA operated under the tight control of the Syrian Ministry of Information, which appointed its leadership and dictated its editorial policies. Syrian journalists and academics interviewed for this report (in May 2024) confirmed that the agency was fully embedded within the state propaganda infrastructure.

Since the formation of the Syrian Transitional Government in early 2025, SANA has remained under the administrative oversight of the Ministry of Information, now led by Hamza al-Mustafa, an independent figure within the transitional cabinet. In April 2025, Zyad Mahameed was appointed as SANA’s new director—a move widely interpreted as part of the transitional government’s effort to gradually reform state-run media and signal a departure from the Assad-era propaganda model.

Source of funding and budget

No budgetary figures for SANA were ever made public under the previous regime. According to exiled Syrian media professionals, it was widely understood that SANA was entirely state-funded, with all its operational and staff costs covered by allocations from the central government.

As of mid-2025, there is still no transparent financial reporting. However, SANA continues to function as a publicly financed institution, now drawing resources from the transitional government budget. A media reform plan announced in May 2025 includes proposals for future disclosure of public media financing, but implementation remains pending.

Editorial independence

Under Assad, SANA’s editorial output was overtly loyal to the regime—publishing daily press releases that glorified the government and vilified opposition actors. Coverage of internal dissent or foreign criticism was either absent or heavily spun in favour of state positions. The agency served as a central pillar in the state’s information control apparatus.

Since January 2025, SANA has begun a cautious repositioning. Under its new leadership, the agency has expanded coverage of transitional governance activities, constitutional reform, and economic reconstruction. Nevertheless, its content still avoids direct criticism of former regime figures or institutions. While tone and thematic range have shifted, there is no formal statute or legal mechanism yet in place to ensure editorial independence or protect SANA from political interference.

In January 2025, The Guardian reported on SANA’s relaunch under new editorial leadership, describing the move as part of a broader “soft rebranding” of Syrian state media. The transition was marked by attempts to reduce overt propaganda and signal a break from the Assad era, while still maintaining state-aligned narratives.

Despite cosmetic changes, civil society watchdogs remain sceptical of SANA’s independence, citing the absence of independent oversight, pluralistic governance, or legislative reform safeguarding editorial autonomy.

July 2025