The Ministry of Information was established in 1964. It is one of the deep-rooted ministries in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It has set its mode of operation on the basis of the Royal Commission Address, which was expressed by the Cabinet Statement addressing the House of Representatives. Its mode of operation may be summarized along the principle of “State Information and Nation Information”, on the basis of objectivity, professionalism and transcending with them by adopting the true information, committed to the values held in a climate of freedom and democracy, and respecting opinions and counter-opinions. In order to achieve the broad lines of this information policy, the Ministry works at realizing these principles in coordination with its information departments, keeping in mind that the number of its staff is 52. These departments are:

1.        Press and Publications Department, which was established in 1921, and now has a staff of 150.

2.        The Jordan Radio and Television Corporation, with a staff of 1652, and which includes:The Jordan Broadcasting Station, which was established on March 1, 1959.The Television Station which was established on April 28, 1968

3.        Jordan Press Agency, which was established on July 16, 1969 and employs 222 people

Duties:

1.        Initiating a dialogue with officials at the local daily and weekly newspapers over national, regional and international issues in a spirit of conversion rather than collision, to serve national interest and benefits by the official information and the national press.

2.        Establish understanding and avoiding stress in the relationship between the government and the press. This is achieved by stressing good intentions and the flexibility of the government in dealing with newspapers through implementing the Press and Publications Law, and that through respecting this law, the press exhibits its respect of the state of law and institutions.

3.        Opening official information to reporters to participate in presenting the Jordanian political and information address through radio and television by presenting various dialogues as part of political and cultural programs, which opens the doors for interaction between those working in official information systems and the local daily and weekly newspapers.

4.        Direct official information systems to adopting dialogue programs in which various political spectra participate to address issues of importance to the nation and the citizens with transparency and courage, and to listen to opinions and counter-opinions regardless of their affiliations, and to respect the citizen’s freedom of expression and participation in this program.

5.        Work at facilitating the mission of Arab and international press during their coverage of national occasions with the spirit of openness that reflects the present stage of the Jordanian march, in addition to opening all doors in Jordan, without obstruction, for Arab and international satellite stations, and never to prohibit or confiscate any Arab publication, with the exception of those that contradict moral values, traditions and norms of our society and religion.

6.        Participate in Arab and international conferences that aim at plotting Arab policies, organizing mutual information exchange and signing information agreements with brotherly and friendly countries to benefit from their experiences in these fields.

7.        Full coordination with all ministries and official and national institutions for them to coordinate among themselves to cover all occasions, conferences, and cultural seminars on various economic and social issues, and to benefit from the role of the official information in publishing details on these dialogues to serve the national objective, and placing the Jordanian citizen in the full picture of what is happening in his country clearly and directly.

8.        Carry out the duty of professional and administrative coordination among official information systems (radio, television, press agency and the Press and Publications Department), especially in delegations, courses, training, planning and duties in which various systems participate, as happened when the Jordanian Press Center for 2001 was set up as a result of full cooperation among the various departments of the Ministry of Information, which projected a successful image of Jordanian information during the Arab Summit Conference held at the end of March 2002.

9.        Issue the necessary licenses for daily and weekly newspapers, publishing houses, printing presses, public opinion survey houses, translation houses, distribution houses and advertising offices.