DAMASCUS, SANA – Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said Wednesday that the relaunch of the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) in its new form places it at the forefront of state media, guiding institutions toward renewal and a stronger connection with the public.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the relaunch, al-Mustafa pledged to “open a new page where the New Agency restores its natural role as a national and professional platform” to deliver journalism with responsibility.
The minister stressed that New SANA would work within a professional, objective way to be more closely connected to people’s daily concerns after “it was tied in collective memory to the era of the former regime, when it shifted from a news agency into what a propaganda tool that justified repression and distorted facts”.
“We will redefine the agency’s role and mission so that SANA can return to being a comprehensive national news service, aiming to be a transmitter of events, a mirror of society, and a source of reliable information about Syria, both locally and globally” the minister added.
Regaining public trust
Information Minister explained that the “need today for a reliable and transparent official source is no longer a luxury”, but rather an essential condition for building the public opinion and regaining public trust.
The minister thanked SANA team who worked day and night to develop and increase news publishing, noting that this quantitative transformation, will be accompanied by an exceptional development in the quality of the content provided.
Integrated news service
The information minister said that SANA is no longer publishing a text only, but a service that provides comprehensive news items through a network of 164 correspondents, approximately 75 collaborators, and a team of correspondents around the world, cooperating with other national media institutions.
“We in the state media have decided to have our own editorial approach and style” to present facts and true news, the minister said adding that SANA and other institutions, are proud of “reporting the news objectively and honestly, with an almost nonexistent margin of error.”
Dr. Mustafa stressed that national media will commit to “credibility and transparency to regain the trust of Syrians after decades of forced estrangement”.
He concluded that SANA will seek to diversify its tools, from text and images to field coverage, and from digital broadcasting to direct interaction with the public.
The minister thanked the President Ahmad al-Sharaa, for granting Ministry of information his trust, and thanked SANA team for their great work with responsibility.
