Regional Government brings regional newspapers to all Private Social Solidarity Institutions and schools across the archipelago - Communication

Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Comunidades

The Regional Government, through the Regional Secretariat for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, announced today the implementation of a programme for the purchase and distribution of regional newspapers in schools and Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) across the archipelago.

The government official responsible for media affairs, Paulo Estêvão, visited the Santa Casa da Misericórdia da Ribeira Grande (charity) this morning, one of the entities taking part in this vast network of institutions benefiting from this measure to promote reading and directly support the media.

For the Regional Secretary, the presence of the written press in these institutions ensures access to the truth.

"In a world where information is available through various mechanisms, yet it is not reliable, the media produces trustworthy information," stated the government official. He also took the opportunity to thank the institution and its staff for their work, leaving a message of optimism to the elderly people present.

Paulo Estêvão also highlighted the singular nature of the measure compared to the rest of the country: "We are ensuring that our newspapers reach everywhere, throughout the entire Region," whereas there have been well-known problems with newspaper distribution in Mainland Portugal, even in district capitals.

Under this programme, which began in the second half of 2025 and continues this year, subscriptions to all newspapers in the Autonomous Region of the Azores have been purchased for distribution to all schools and Private Social Solidarity Institutions.

Today's visit brings to life one of the pillars of the strategic plan launched by the Azorean Government to revitalise and support the regional press, which is based on four fundamental pillars.

The first pillar is precisely the subscription of regional publications, purchased by the Region, for distribution in schools and Private Social Solidarity Institutions. 

The second pillar is based on the Media Incentive System (SIM), whose regional investment in 2025 stood at around €1 million.

The third pillar takes the form of institutional advertising, with the purchase of packages from media outlets, including radio stations, which in the past were the “poor relation” of regional support, acknowledged Paulo Estêvão.

Lastly, the fourth pillar focuses on the ongoing commitment to training journalists in the Azores – including those in the public sector – through annual initiatives with content defined in partnership with CENJOR and the Regional Board of the Azorean Journalists' Union. For this year, training courses on artificial intelligence are already underway in the first half of the year, and investigative journalism in the last six months of the year.

Assessing the implementation of these measures, Paulo Estêvão stressed that current support for the media as a whole "triples what happened before" under socialist governments.

With the implementation of these four pillars, the Azorean Government reiterates its practical commitment to financial sustainability, modernisation and independence of the media across all islands.