The Council noted that the decision reflects the importance of media as one of the state's soft power tools and confirms the government's keenness to strengthen cooperation with media institutions and remain open to media outlets, thereby supporting the media environment, the flow of information, and consolidating the partnership between the public and media sectors.
It explained that the approval of these criteria aims to address the imbalances witnessed in the government advertising market over the past years and to curb the chaos that accompanied advertisement distribution mechanisms by adopting clear standards that achieve justice and fairness among daily newspapers, while considering the requirements for the sustainability of media institutions and their ability to perform their role.
The Council pointed out that, according to the government's letter, all ministries, official departments, public institutions and bodies, official universities, municipalities, joint services councils, the Greater Amman Municipality, and companies fully owned by the government are committed to adhering to the approved criteria when publishing government advertisements in daily newspapers.
The Council indicated that the criteria are based on the 2019 instructions for determining the most widely circulated newspapers for publishing advertisements and judicial notices, issued by the Minister of Justice based on the recommendation of the Committee for Most Widely Circulated Newspapers, while the Audit Bureau will monitor the extent to which government units and entities comply with publishing advertisements according to the approved criteria and standards.
It emphasized that the criteria took into account the principles of justice and fairness among media institutions, based on the recommendations of the Services, Infrastructure, and Social Affairs Committee, taking into consideration standards of circulation, staff, and operational costs, achieving a balance among the daily newspapers issued, and preserving the sustainability of media institutions and their role in the national media landscape.
The Council expressed its thanks and appreciation to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Local Administration Eng. Walid Al-Masri, Minister of Government Communication Dr. Mohammad Al-Momani, Minister of Finance Dr. Abdelhakim Al-Shibli, Director General of the Government Procurement Department Hanadi Al-Nabulsi, and the members of the concerned committee who continued to work on this file for consecutive months to reach the approval of these criteria.
The Council appreciated the efforts made by the concerned authorities to complete the file, which organizes the government advertising market, enhances the principles of justice and transparency in the distribution of advertisements, and supports the sustainability of daily newspapers, enabling them to continue performing their media, professional, and national mission.
