The third meeting between media outlets (OCS) from the Azores and North America (in this case, Toronto and Montreal) took place in Canada between the 11th and 17th of this month, at the initiative of the Regional Government. It was five days of learning about what is being done in the Portuguese language, with an Azorean matrix, in the press, radio, and television, and sharing experiences. We shared our views and learned valuable lessons. We strengthened ties and planned ways to get the ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) up and running. The alliance was established at the first meeting three years ago on the east coast of the US to give it legal status, means, and resources to bring the Azorean communities together, both here and there, even closer.

We found media outlets that reflect the strength of the business fabric that surrounds them. Invariably, they are backed by solid economic groups, not necessarily Azorean, whose primary interest may or may not be the media. The business model, in the case of newspapers, is simple and, as it is (or should be) taught in school, advertising pays all the costs, so the newspaper is offered to readers free of charge. What Azorean newspapers lack is a market, where advertising is increasingly so residual that newspaper sales are the “bread and butter” that helps, not their strength, but their precarious survival. And even this is threatened by platforms where they circulate for free.

In the reality of each of the islands, considering the enormous difficulty in freeing up funds for investment in advertising, we are left with only the State, in this case, the governments and local authorities. They have to be the ones to buy newspapers and invest in advertising because if this ultimate sustenance is lacking, those that exist will disappear and will be difficult to revive. This issue was also on the table, and those present (the government and OCS) committed to educating the various authorities, each in their own way.

The richness of these days spent in Toronto and Montreal, beyond the exchange of experiences with actors and leaders of the diaspora, allowed us to get to know each other better on an internal level. The conclusion we drew is that there are new people with drive, full of ideas and who know how to get things done, and older people who do not let their credits go to others, the common denominator being that both have left the sea of lamentations behind and only aspire to the means and conditions that will enable them to fulfill their supreme mission of informing and (forgive the arrogance) helping to form an enlightened public opinion, for the good of the development of the Region, of Autonomy, and of which the Diaspora can also be proud.

In Diário Insular – José Lourenço, director

NOVIDADES features occasional opinion pieces from various leading thinkers and writers in the Azores, providing the diaspora and those interested in the current state of the Azores with insight into the diverse opinions on some of the archipelago’s key issues.

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) at California State University-Fresno.