Template:Did you know nominations/Antara (news agency)

Antara (news agency)

 * ... that the Indonesian state news agency Antara was established before the country's independence?
 * Reviewed: Not necessary, not a self nom

5x expanded by Arsonal (talk). Nominated by Crisco 1492 (talk) at 15:13, 15 February 2013 (UTC).


 * Symbol question.svg Date and size check out. But I'm confused about the nature of the company. The first sentence of the lead says "Antara is an Indonesian news agency organized as a private company under the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises." The last paragraph of the lead says Antara was "reorganized as a state-owned enterprise in 2007." And the hook says it is the "Indonesian state news agency". I'm not sure which it is, and I can't find a citation that makes it clear. A news agency owned by the state is not necessarily a "state news agency" - I guess the BBC would be the former but not the latter. StAnselm (talk) 02:38, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Antara is both a news agency owned by the state and the state news agency. This is further elaborated in the article's body. The nature of its history (how it began as a private agency, was then placed under direct presidential control, and then spun off as a state-owned enterprise) results in its current ambiguous status. The agency cannot separate itself from the state and is dependent on it in order to maintain a monopoly on the distribution of material from foreign agencies. The full designation "Lembaga Kantor Berita Nasional" (LKBN) literally translates to "National News Office Institute". — Arsonal (talk + contribs) — 03:36, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * So, is it still a private company? StAnselm (talk) 05:57, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * It is private in the sense that it is not a publicly listed company on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (as opposed to owned by a private citizen). It is one of the companies managed by the Ministry of State-owned Enterprises, whereby the Minister acts as if he is the CEO of a holding company. "Perum" (short for Perusahaan Umum) is one of the designations for state-owned entities. See Types of companies and Government-owned corporation. — Arsonal (talk + contribs) — 07:32, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Pictogram voting keep.svg OK then. The source for the 1937 establishment is offline, and accepted on good faith. StAnselm (talk) 08:42, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * You can check online here if you want. — Crisco 1492 (talk) 09:05, 28 February 2013 (UTC)
 * Symbol confirmed.svg Sure. And I didn't even need to translate... StAnselm (talk) 09:07, 28 February 2013 (UTC)