"Action Plan for Azorean Media" represents firm step towards strengthening sector quality, highlights José Manuel Bolieiro - Communication

Presidência do Governo Regional

The President of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, chaired today the public presentation of the "Action Plan for Azorean Media," a strategy designed to strengthen the sector in the Region and a firm step towards improving editorial quality and employment.

"We are taking steps to consolidate, maintain and improve the quality of our private media on each of our islands," he emphasised, speaking at the Conceição Palace in Ponta Delgada.

The regional media, which includes radio stations, is part of the Azores' "historical identity" and plays an "educational role" for citizens in many areas, including natural disasters.

As such, the Regional Government intends to contribute to the economic sustainability of these organisations, always ensuring the "scrutiny" of the support granted and the complementarity with the Action Plan for the Media, already presented by the National Government.

"Educational success is also achieved through reading. The role of the media is also essential in this learning and access to knowledge," continued José Manuel Bolieiro. He emphasised the Plan's focus on the younger generations and their access to “well-written and well-informed media with ethical rules."

"We're doing more and better. I am not giving up on this reference, which is fair. The historical scenario was already insufficient to guarantee this sustainability support," said the President of the Government.

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, presented the Action Plan for the Azorean Media in detail. He pointed out that the project will have a budget of two million Euros in 2025 and will be increased by 200 thousand Euros annually until the end of the term. 

Paulo Estêvão also made the services of the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities available to professionals in the sector, namely company managers, to provide logistical, technical or administrative support regarding the implementation of the national programme.

The "Action Plan for Azorean Media" is based on four areas of intervention: the Media Incentives System (SIM), a document that will be submitted to the Council of the Government and then to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores; the purchase of institutional advertising packages from media outlets; the subscription of publications, acquired by the Region, for distribution in schools and Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS); and the training of Azorean journalists in the form of two annual courses, divided into two groups of trainees, whose content will be defined in agreement between the Protocol Centre for Professional Training for Journalists (CENJOR) and the Regional Board of the Azorean Journalists' Union.

The protocol with CENJOR was signed today with the presence of the Centre's director, Miguel Crespo.

By the end of the month, the Centre will make a detailed presentation of the training courses to be held in 2025. As for contents, one will cover economic and financial matters and the other will focus on how journalists should act in disaster scenarios.

The "Action Plan for Azorean Media" is aimed at private organisations with their head office or tax domicile, as applicable, in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, operating as regional or local media outlets - radio stations, television channels and digital media organisations.