AMMAN — The government on Wednesday decided to increase the price it pays for public advertisements in newspapers in a bid to help mitigate financial difficulties facing local dailies.
During a meeting on Wednesday, chaired by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, the Cabinet decided to raise the advertisement rate from JD0.065per word to JD0.10.
The government had been paying 65 fils per word since 1973.
Following the session, Ensour directed the concerned public agencies to examine a set of suggestions from the Jordan Press Association (JPA) on how the government can help newspapers alleviate their financial woes in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.
Upon a recommendation from its economic development committee, the Council of Ministers also decided to continue implementing the government’s subscription mechanism, obliging each ministry and public agency to buy five and three copies respectively of the Kingdom’s main dailies.
The Cabinet also directed the General Supplies Department to draw up a framework for the government’s tender advertisements in local print media based on the distribution rate of each newspaper.
The JPA issued a statement later on Wednesday commending the Cabinet decisions. JPA President Tareq Momani said the positive response from the government and the Lower House represent an acknowledgement of the important role that print media outlets continue to play.
In addition, the Council of Ministers tasked the ICT minister with setting up a website for the government’s advertisements within three months.
Also on Wednesday, the Lower House Public Freedoms and Human Rights committees discussed measures that need to be followed to help newspapers resolve their financial issues during a session attended by Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani and representatives of the JPA and local newspapers.
