Press release - Communication

Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Comunidades

Regarding the support for private media in the Region, the Government of the Azores would like to clarify the following:

The possibility of the Rádio Club de Angra closing down due to financial difficulties has been in the news for the last two days. The Regional Government is aware of the difficulties the media is experiencing. As such, it presented a proposal for Extraordinary Support for this year to the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. The proposal was approved on 18 October, with the votes of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition and the Socialist Party, and published on November 21.

The Regional Government committed to implementing the extraordinary support programme as quickly as possible so that it could be paid out this year. This has been achieved in record time. The funds will be paid into the accounts of private media companies before the end of the year (Monday or Tuesday).

Aware that support for the private media cannot, in the current context, only be exceptional, the Regional Government has allocated support totalling two million Euros in the 2025 Regional Plan. It should also be emphasised that the amount planned for 2025 will increase by 200 thousand Euros annually.

By the end of the legislative period, the private media will have received annual support totalling 2.6 million Euros. The new support programme for private media outlets, the SIM Programme, one of the axes of the Plan for the sector, will be approved by the Council of the Government on January 7, 2025.

The training courses for journalists from the Region and the diaspora already under contract with CENJOR (Protocol Centre for Professional Training for Journalists) will begin in March 2025. Three training programmes are planned for 2025, and the training programme will continue throughout the legislative period.

Furthermore, the Regional Government of the Azores has already guaranteed the full application of the measures under the national media support programme adopted regionally in the Azores.

Therefore, it is unfair to state that the Regional Government and the regional political power, in general, are not aware of the difficulties faced by the private media in the Azores. A solid regional and national response is being prepared and implemented, and extraordinary support has already been approved. It is being paid to address the situation immediately.

In the specific case of Rádio Club de Angra, it is not true that the Regional Government did not make any payments under the 2024 PROMEDIA application. The organisation did receive the funds specified in the July ordinance. However, no amounts were included in the October ordinance because it did not submit its expenses by that deadline unlike most media organisations included in that ordinance.

The government support planned for Rádio Clube de Angra will exceed 20 thousand Euros, adding up the support provided under PROMEDIA and the extraordinary support programme. The Regional Government is fully committed to safeguarding the media on Terceira Island and throughout the Azores.

Our aim, as demonstrated, is to support the private media and secure their financial recovery. From our standpoint, the media plays an essential role in the functioning of the Azorean democratic and autonomic system.