Support for private media strengthens pluralism of Azorean democracy, stresses Paulo Estêvão.

The Regional Secretary for Parliamentary Affairs and Communities, Paulo Estêvão, today highlighted the approval by the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, in Horta, of the Incentive System for Private Media in the Azores (SIM), which will strengthen the “pluralism” of Azorean democracy.

“This is about the dissemination of information that is essential for our citizenship. Information that is subject to deontological and ethical principles. It’s regulated,” he said at the presentation of the Regional Legislative Decree.

Valuing the contributions gathered in the sector and also in the parliamentary specialty, Paulo Estêvão recalled that this is one of the axes of the Azorean government’s plan for private media: SIM is joined by a training program for journalists, a program to buy subscriptions to regional newspapers, an institutional advertising component and the full application in the region of the National Plan to support the sector.

“Without taking into account the national support that can be raised, the Plan amounts to two million euros. It’s a robust plan, capable, we’re sure, of turning the situation around,” he said.

Recalling that “while it is true that there is no democracy without the media,” there are also no “journalists without media outlets that publish their news and pay their salaries,” Paulo Estêvão pointed out that “support for the media is fair and fundamental in terms of values” and “in preserving democracy, the greatest of human creations.”

“It’s necessary because, without support, pluralism of information in this region will disappear. At the moment, RTP Açores has almost as many employees as all the private media combined and receives 88% of state and regional funding. Together, the private media only receive 12% of the funds allocated to the media in the Azores. In this new world, crushed in the pincers formed by the public media and all the new publications with non-journalistic content, but which disguise and mask them, the private media are on the verge of being crushed if nothing is done,” he said.

From Press Release.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.