António Leitão Amaro visited the headquarters of Lusa in Lisbon today, where he met with the Board of Directors, the News Directorate, and addressed the workers.
The minister emphasized that the Government has been sending “important signals” of confidence in Lusa, notably the full acquisition of Lusa’s capital, expected to be completed “in the coming weeks.”
Leitão Amaro stated that the enhancement and recognition of this public service come with the condition that Lusa is not serving the Government but the truth.
“There should be no doubt that this idea of strengthening the public service and the State’s role in combating misinformation is carried out with respect for the tools and the culture of independence,” he reiterated.
At the end of July 2024, the State acquired 45.71% of Global Media and Páginas Civilizadas’ stake in Lusa for 2.49 million euros, bringing its ownership to 95.86% of the news agency’s capital.
Subsequently, the intention to acquire the minority positions in Lusa, notably from NP – Notícias de Portugal, Público, RTP, and Empresa do Diário do Minho, was confirmed.
Regarding the company’s governance model, particularly the creation of a Supervisory Board, the minister clarified that everything is still open.
“I am not sure that other models, applied to other institutions, if implemented here, would work well. We need to work towards finding the right way […]. It is a discussion we will have throughout this year,” he noted.
The Chairman of Lusa’s Board of Directors, Joaquim Carreira, has been advocating for a model similar to that of RTP, with a separation of powers, grounded in the concept of editorial independence, financial oversight, stability, and management autonomy.
The minister also mentioned that one of the measures in the action plan for the media involves injecting more funds into Lusa, which he assured would be reflected in the next State Budget. This will be aimed at technological transformation, strengthening resources, the “evolution and dynamization” of the workforce, and combating the growth of news deserts in parts of the territory.
Asked by workers whether the Government having its own fact-checking system could undermine journalists’ roles, the minister stated that the Government intends to continue combating ‘fake news’ (disinformation) but emphasized that the State does not want to replace the sector’s role in this task.
[News updated at 17:35]
