From Founding Decree to Leadership: KUNA's 50 Years of Dedication and Distinctive Media Work

By Sara Al-Mukhaimis (News Report) Kuwait City, Oct 6 (KUNA) -- On October 6, 1976, the Kuwaiti media landscape witnessed the birth of a national news beacon that carried the name of the State of Kuwait to the vast horizons of the media sphere, as the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) launched as an official voice reflecting the nation’s civilization and development, and conveying local facts, events, and activities to sister and friendly countries. That day saw the issuance of Decree-Law No. 70 of 1976 by the late Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah (may God have mercy on him), establishing a public authority with legal personality under the name Kuwait News Agency.

The founding decree of the agency outlined several key objectives, primarily to gather and collect news within Kuwait and abroad, prepare studies, data, and statements, and cover all matters related to political, economic, social, and cultural news, in addition to distributing and disseminating news within Kuwait and abroad to media outlets, public and private entities, and individuals.

On this day, October 6, 2026, the agency celebrates its 50th anniversary, recalling half a century of media contribution and honoring a pioneering journey marked by professional and technical development at both the regional and international levels, during which the agency became a prominent media platform for the State of Kuwait.

The agency’s activities in the period preceding the brutal Iraqi invasion in August 1990 were characterized by intensive investment in the professional qualification of national cadres, the opening of several offices in sister and friendly countries, and the expansion of its correspondent network in key nations. During this phase, the agency played a significant role regionally and globally by launching innovative media initiatives to break the Western monopoly on news content and media flow, while strengthening its external relations with peer institutions through the signing of numerous agreements and memoranda of understanding with global news agencies and other agencies in sister and friendly countries.

On March 11, 1978, the agency launched its official local broadcast in Arabic, starting with six hours daily divided into morning and evening sessions. It then doubled its broadcast hours to 12 hours daily on June 10 of the same year, reaching 16 hours on October 14 of that year. The agency’s ambitions did not stop at the local level; it launched its first external Arabic broadcast on November 15, 1978, at a rate of three hours daily, which later increased to 12 hours and then to 16 hours on February 15, 1979.

In November 1977, the agency began broadcasting an experimental news bulletin aimed at Kuwaiti embassies worldwide, officially launching it on November 28, 1979, reaching 38 Kuwaiti embassies and consulates, providing comprehensive coverage of major local events supported by reports serving diplomatic work.

As a significant step toward media globalization, the agency began experimentally broadcasting its content in English on January 15, 1980, followed by the official launch on February 25 of the same year, with 12 hours of daily broadcast for the local service and 10 hours for the external service, later increasing to 16 hours daily for each. The agency’s broadcast strategy was highly flexible, with transmission hours expanding proportionally to major events, which often necessitated 24-hour continuous operation to ensure the public received the latest updates moment by moment.

Investment in human resources and continuous training formed a cornerstone for the agency to elevate its media work methods and keep pace with the rapid developments in journalism, aiming to hone editors’ skills, develop the capabilities of engineers and technicians, and enhance the knowledge of staff in the Information and Research Center to ensure accurate, objective, and swift news flow.

The first practical steps in professional training began in 1979 when the agency sent several of its national cadres to London, UK, to join an intensive training course in cooperation with Reuters news agency. The agency then focused on transferring this expertise locally, opening its first training courses within its headquarters in Kuwait on October 17, 1982.

The agency was keen on empowering Kuwaiti women in media work by encouraging graduates from various universities to join the agency in fields such as editing, documentation, report and research preparation, and administrative and financial affairs.

On December 4, 1979, KUNA took its first steps toward global media coverage by opening its first external office in London, UK. In 1980, it opened several other offices in most Arab countries and several global nations, including its first offices in Washington, DC, USA, and Beirut, Lebanon.

The agency established itself as a distinguished professional institution in the regional and international media landscape by achieving a series of historic journalistic exclusives, outpacing major global news agencies and other media outlets. It was keen on enhancing its international presence and curbing Western media dominance in news production through several initiatives, including launching the Arab Media Complex project in Vienna, Austria, in 1984. This project included launching a daily news service in the form of a comprehensive bulletin broadcast by KUNA to Europe on behalf of the Federation of Arab News Agencies (FANA), to convey the Arab voice and introduce the issues of developing countries free from distortion or stereotyping.

The agency’s interest was not limited to local affairs; Arab issues, foremost among them the Palestinian cause, formed a constant priority on its daily news agenda. The Arab stance also became a practical approach for the agency through the broadcast of political analyses and the flow of news reports from its offices spread across Arab and world capitals.

Regarding international cooperation, the agency achieved professional precedence by signing a strategic agreement with the British House of Commons, making its news bulletin available to British parliamentarians at their premises in London. This was accompanied by the agency’s success in building a wide network of international relations, with the number of news agencies linked to it through news exchange agreements reaching approximately 30 by 1986.

In line with following the state’s foreign policy and international openness, the agency, in coordination with the Yugoslav News Agency, initiated the establishment of the Non-Aligned News Agency Bulletin (NANA) coinciding with the opening of its news office in Moscow, thereby strengthening its media presence in the Eastern Bloc and socialist countries.

The agency did not confine itself to daily news work but formed a cognitive and cultural hub through its Information Center. Between May 1978 and June 1990, it prepared approximately 51 specialized publications under the title “Research Files,” in addition to publishing 17 specialized books covering diverse topics.

With the onset of the Iraqi invasion of the country, the agency was forced to temporarily suspend its broadcast after invaders stormed its headquarters in the Watya complex in Kuwait City and seized all its equipment. This compelled the agency to resume broadcasting a few days later from its office in London. (End) S.R.