Melbārde: Local and regional media need continuous support

Dace Melbārde, Member of the European Parliament in the EPP Group, hosted the launch of the study "Uncovering news deserts in Europe. Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU" on 5 March at the European Parliament with the presence of a wide community of media organisations. The study is the result of a pilot project initiated and promoted by Dace Melbārde.

The study is the result of a pilot project initiated and promoted by MEP Dace Melbārde.

The study maps local and regional media in the EU Member States to identify regions where "news deserts" - places where professional local media no longer exist - have already developed or are at high risk of developing.

The study shows that the debate on "news deserts" in Europe has only just begun, although in all Member States local and regional media are operating in unfavourable market conditions

The study shows that the debate on "news deserts" in Europe has only just begun, although in all Member States local and regional media are operating in unfavourable market conditions and face economic sustainability challenges. The printed press is clearly most at risk as its revenues continue to decline and people are generally unwilling to pay for local news online. There is also a lack of funding for innovation and new developments.

Some recommendations that researchers have come up with:

- A decent minimum wage and social security schemes for journalists,

- More subsidies for independent journalism,

- Long-term studies to investigate the situation at local level.

Local and regional media are very important pillars of democracy. As a democratic society, especially in these geopolitical circumstances, we simply cannot afford to lose local journalism.

MEP Dace Melbārde says: "Local and regional media are very important pillars of democracy. As a democratic society, especially in these geopolitical circumstances, we simply cannot afford to lose local journalism. That is why local and regional media need continuous and permanent support. The results of the study I have initiated only confirm this: without adequate financial support, we could lose Europe's regional and local media.

In the discussion, Ivonna Plaude from the Latvian Regional Media Association pointed out that "news deserts" already exist in Latvia. Without institutional support, local media cannot develop, thus threatening democracy.

The Belgian representative, Steven Vanden Bussche of the investigative media Apache, also highlighted the financial problems and the lack of understanding of the challenges faced by local media, arguing that policy makers need to invest more in good journalism in order to stimulate a more diverse media environment.

The study also found that low wages, poor working conditions, physical and online threats affect local journalists more than national journalists, especially in Croatia and Greece.

The panelists stressed the importance of peer-to-peer networking and cooperation, which enables the exchange of information on both business models and audience engagement. Not only the media should be supported, but also the organisations that fund and train them.

The study is available here.