European Federation of Journalists

European Federation of Journalists

Local journalism needs more support than ever to defend democracy


Around 80 local journalists, journalists’ organisations, media researchers and experts from 19 EU countries gathered during the two-day Local Journalism Festival in Brno organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. 

Opening the Festival, EFJ President Maja Sever stressed that “the beginning and end of good journalism that serves the public interest is strong and independent local journalism, and that connection with citizens and the community is the essence of our work.”

“Local journalism is the backbone of independent journalism. Without it, we cannot safeguard our democracy. Journalists, their unions and associations, civil society and academics must work together to show decision-makers that local media serves the public interests of local communities and that they are the foundation of our democratic societies.” – Maja Sever, EFJ President. 

The Festival focused on the various challenges and success stories of local journalism by the 42 local media grantees of the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project. The first-ever comparative report on news deserts in the EU by the Centre of Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was presented and Sofia Verza, Lead Researcher of the report, warned about the increasing risk of news deserts across all EU countries and called for actions among media stakeholders to implement the recommendations in the report. 

During the event, journalists from around the EU discussed the situation of local journalism in their countries. “In my experience, the phenomenon of disinformation and the rising far right trend are interconnected,” explained Karin Kovary Solymos from the Investigative Centre for Jan Kuciak (ICJK). In many EU cities and towns, there is the illusion of local media coverage, but very often this is not good quality news or is captured by political and business interests.

“The work of local journalists is complex and under-appreciated,” said Eva Hrnčířová, member of Vice-Commissioner Vera Jourova’s cabinet. “The risk of journalists’ safety is so prominent at the local level because of poor working conditions, lack of remuneration and increasing number of attacks in the digital world. There are many innovative projects trying to stop this trend – the LM4D, its 42 projects and the CMPF news desert report show this.”

Gathered in the historical town of Brno, the Festival focused on the challenges faced by local media in the region of Central Eastern Europe where news deserts are prominent. Lenka Waschková Císařová, local journalism researcher at Masaryk University, explained that the Czech Republic has the highest risks in terms of poor media infrastructure, lack of security for journalists and lack of editorial independence.

In Slovakia, Martina Hilbertova from Transparency International Slovakia showed that one-third of the country is a news desert, including Bratislava, while in Bulgaria there is no local newspaper in the third largest city in Bulgaria.

Given such difficulties everywhere in the EU, there was a consensus for the need to revive and strengthen local journalism through sustainable financing systems and coalition-building. Mogens Blicher Bjerregård from the Danish Union of Journalists stressed the importance of connections, cooperation and raising awareness to receive concrete help from national and international institutions and associations. The Festival was concluded with a cooperative spirit among participants who are committed to supporting local journalism. 

The Festival was part of the18-month LM4D project led by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) together with the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF), International Media Support (IMS) and Journalismfund Europe and co-funded by the European Commission. At the end of the project, a total of 42 local media outlets in the EU had received over €1.2 million financial support and technical support.