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Saudi Press Agency

Official government news agency of Saudi Arabia

Field	Value
agency_name	Saudi Press Agency
nativename	وكالة الأنباء السعودية
nativename_a	SPA
nativename_r	واس
formed
logo	[[File:Saudi Press Agency Logo.svg	300px]]
jurisdiction	Government of Saudi Arabia
headquarters	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
chief1_name	Dr. Fahd bin Hassan Al Aqran
chief1_position	President
parent_agency	Ministry of Media
website

The Saudi Press Agency (SPA; ) is the state news agency of Saudi Arabia. It was established in 1970 during the reign of King Faisal bin Abdulaziz, and functions under the country's Ministry of Media.

History and profile

The agency was established in 1970 as the first national news agency in Saudi Arabia. The main goal of its establishment was to serve as a central body to collect and distribute local and international news in Saudi Arabia and abroad.

The SPA is under the responsibility of the Ministry of Media and therefore, its president directly reports to the minister. The SPA provides the newspapers with a guideline, the editorial line, which should be followed in their reports. The Agency publishes news in Arabic, English, French, Chinese, Russian and Persian. The SPA has offices in Bonn, Cairo, London, Tunis and Washington, DC.

In late May 2012, the Saudi Council of Ministers made a decision to separate Saudi Television and Radio and Saudi Press Agency (SPA), making both as two independent corporations.

Under the May 2012 restructuring, the SPA covers events and issues at national, regional and international levels, especially those related to the Kingdom and contribute to strengthening the journalistic profession in the country. The new arrangement also involves the transformation of the SPA into a Presidency. The Minister of Media acts as the board chairman of the agency.

In November 2013, the SPA signed a news exchange agreement with Anadolu Agency, official news agency of Turkey.

Activities

The agency organized the fourth News Agencies World Congress (NAWC) in Riyadh in 2013.

References

(6 June 2013). "News Media in the Arab World: A Study of 10 Arab and Muslim Countries". A&C Black.
"Ministry of Culture and Information". SAMIRAD.
(2008). "Saudi Arabia. Media market description". World Association of Newspapers.
Al Qahtani, Badr. (29 May 2012). "Saudi TV, SPA to be independent corporations". Arab News.
(16 November 2013). "Riyadh hosts Arab news agencies conference". KUNA.
(19 November 2013). "Anadolu Agency signs news deal with Saudi SPA". Anadolu Agency.
Rashid Hassan. (20 November 2013). "News agencies embrace information technology". Arab News.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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