Its staff played a key role in the broadcast of Indonesia's proclamation of independence and assumed control of the Dōmei facilities in the region at the end of the war.

This led to dissatisfaction among independence activists Soemanang Soerjowinoto and Albert Manoempak Sipahoetar, who eventually decided to form a separate news agency.

Alwi Soetan Osman, an employee of the Indies' Ministry of Justice, briefly succeeded him as managing editor before being replaced by Pandoe Kartawigoena.

Dōmei officials attempted to retract the bulletin, but a courier was able to deliver a copy of the proclamation using the agency's name to the Hōsō Kanrikyoku radio station in midst of the confusion.

Antara assumed control of Dōmei's local network when the Japanese surrendered to Allied forces weeks later and reopened under private management on 3 September.

[10] After the Dutch relinquished all of their possessions in the Indies in 1962, the Indonesian government began mobilizing the mass media in its efforts to build a unified nation.

President Sukarno released an executive decree which reorganized Antara as the National News Agency Institute (Lembaga Kantor Berita Nasional, or LKBN) under increased government control.

[4][12] Antara received financial assistance from the government and was placed directly under the president's control, giving him the authority to appoint the agency's managing director and editor-in-chief.

[13] An abortive coup in 1965, blamed on the Communist Party of Indonesia and its allies, left Antara under command of the Indonesian National Armed Forces.

[15] Suharto resigned his presidency in 1998, and licensing requirements for media organizations were lifted the following September as the number of authorized publications surged from 289 to over 2,000 in the span of 16 months.

[16] Antara attempted to reinvent its image into that of an independent news agency amid the wave of political reforms, but there were allegations of continued bias toward the policies of Suharto's successor B. J.

[24] Some government officials have called for an end to this practice, but Angela Romano and Blythe Senior of Queensland University of Technology point out that such a decision will "undermine Antara's entire operating structure" and compromise the agency's financial stability.

[4] Antara has partnership agreements in place with Chinese state media outlets Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network to repost their content.

Despite these advances, political scientist Oey Hong Lee observed that the overall impact of Antara's reporting remained limited while Aneta continued to exist, "reflecting on the weakness of the nationalist press" and with "[Antara's] predominantly home-based news coverage finding its way only into more nationalist minded newspapers and progressive Chinese press organs".

Antara and nationalist newspapers, which were largely unrestricted under the postwar transitional Allied administration, engaged in a war of propaganda in order to gain international recognition of an independent Indonesia.

[29] On the occasion of the agency's 69th anniversary, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stated, "Antara made immense contributions in documenting the nation's struggle during the period of revolution, such that its role must not be forgotten.

The Indonesian National Armed Forces, whose growing sociopolitical involvement in the 1950s resulted in a "triangular power structure" with President Sukarno and the Communist Party of Indonesia, grew wary of Antara's leftist leaning under government management.

A consortium of newspapers also sought to establish an unaffiliated news agency in 1966 when it formed the KNI Foundation (Jajasan Kantorberita Nasional Indonesia), but staff and resources were limited compared to Antara, which received government funding.