Lisbon, Sept. 11, 2025 (Lusa) - The government said on Thursday that it would finalise the purchase of the whole of Lusa "in the coming weeks" and stressed that the news agency's new governance model is still "open".
António Leitão Amaro visited Lusa's headquarters in Lisbon today, where he met with the Board of Directors, the Information Directorate, and gave a statement to the workers.
The minister stressed that the government has given "important signs" of confidence in Lusa, starting with the purchase of all of Lusa's capital, which should be finalised "in the next few weeks".
Leitão Amaro said that the reinforcement of the importance and recognition of this public service comes with the condition that Lusa is not at the service of the government, but of the truth.
"Let there be no doubt that this idea of strengthening public service and the role of the state in combating disinformation is done while respecting the instruments and culture of independence," he reiterated.
At the end of July 2024, the state bought Global Media and Páginas Civilizadas' 45.71% stake in Lusa for €2.49 million, giving it 95.86% of the news agency's capital.
It subsequently confirmed its intention to acquire minority positions in Lusa, namely from NP - Notícias de Portugal, Público, RTP and Empresa do Diário do Minho.
Regarding the company's governance model and, in particular, the creation of a Supervisory Board, the minister clarified that everything is still open.
"I'm not sure that other models, applied to other institutions and passed on here, would work well. We have to find the right way [...]. It's a discussion we'll be having throughout this year," he said.
The chairman of Lusa's Board of Directors, Joaquim Carreira, has been advocating a model similar to RTP's, with separation of powers, based on the concept of supervising editorial and financial independence, stability and management autonomy.
The minister also said that one of the measures in the action plan for the media involves injecting more money into Lusa, which he assured will be reflected in the next State Budget, which will be aimed at technological transformation, strengthening resources and the "evolution and dynamisation" of the workforce, as well as "combating the growth of the news desert in parts of the territory".
Asked by the workers whether the fact that the government has its own fact-checking system could discredit the role of journalists, the minister said that the government intended to continue fighting fake news (disinformation), but stressed that the state does not want to replace the role of the sector in this task.
PE/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
