Pressure of Truth
Exposing the spin on all sides of the news.
Outlet profile

ANI / The Tribune

Indian right-center — ANI strongly pro-Indian government (BJP/Modi); The Tribune moderately independent center-right

Owned byANI (Asian News International) is majority-owned by the Prem Prakash family (approximately 74%), with Reuters holding a 26% minority stake reduced from 49% in December 2022 to comply with India's foreign-investment rules. The Tribune is owned by The Tribune Trust, a non-profit body established under the will of founder Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, currently presided over by Narinder Nath Vohra.
FundingANI is funded primarily through wire-service subscription fees paid by Indian TV channels, newspapers, and websites, plus revenue from video licensing and archival footage sales. The Tribune is funded mainly by print and digital advertising, with secondary subscription revenue; as a trust-owned outlet it does not pay dividends or answer to shareholders.
On the administrationmostly neutral

Background

ANI was founded in 1971 by Prem Prakash in New Delhi and grew into India's largest multimedia news agency; Reuters took a 49% stake that was reduced to 26% in December 2022 to meet India's foreign-direct-investment cap for news outlets. After the BJP came to power in 2014, ANI drew growing scrutiny for coverage favorable to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government: it became the only private media house permitted to fly on Modi's official aircraft and was among the first outlets allowed inside the Ram Mandir consecration in January 2024. A 2019 investigation by The Caravan described ANI as having 'a disturbing history of producing blatant propaganda for the state,' and an EU DisinfoLab report found it amplifying a network of fake websites spreading pro-government, anti-Pakistan, and anti-China content while citing sources that did not exist. In March 2025, the Prime Minister's Office restricted VVIP-jet media access exclusively to ANI and state broadcaster Doordarshan. The Tribune has a very different lineage: it was founded in 1881 in Lahore by philanthropist Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, who established it as a trust in his will, and it relocated to Ambala after India's 1947 Partition before settling in Chandigarh. Today it is a leading English daily in Punjab, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, known for a restrained, non-partisan editorial tone, though Media Bias/Fact Check rates it right-center and notes some instances of poor sourcing. The Tribune relies heavily on ANI's wire service for national and international news, as do most Indian regional newspapers, which means its readers frequently encounter ANI-sourced copy alongside The Tribune's own editorial voice.

Sources

  1. Asian News International – Wikipedia
  2. ANI – Bias and Credibility, Media Bias/Fact Check
  3. India's Largest News Agency Continues to Quote Fake Sources – OCCRP
  4. How ANI Reports The Government's Version of Truth – The Caravan
  5. Reuters Reduces Minority Stake in ANI – Talking Biz News
  6. The Tribune (India) – Wikipedia
  7. The Tribune – Bias and Credibility, Media Bias/Fact Check
  8. The Tribune – About Us
  9. 2025: The Year of Trumpism – The Tribune

Profile compiled 2026-07-20; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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