The presenter of the local radio station Tarragona Radio waits for the power to come back on so that she can broadcast, in Tarragona, Spain, on April 28, 2025. A widespread power outage across Spain and Portugal disrupted cellphone and internet services, halted train operations, and left people trapped in elevators, officials reported. (Photo by Francisco Richart Barbeira/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Local journalism empowered: 19 newsrooms get significant financial support

COPENHAGEN/BRUSSELS The Pluralistic Media for Democracy project is supporting 19 local media outlets. These outlets operate in news deserts and areas experiencing strained media pluralism.

The key to ensuring that people can understand and exercise their rights in their communities is independent, local, regional, community and investigative media. These outlets are well positioned to win over their local audience’s confidence and combat false and misleading information.

Through strategic support in innovation, business sustainability, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and audience engagement, the Pluralistic Media for Democracy programme aims to mentor and empower media organisations to continue their critical role in upholding democratic values, promoting DEI and contributing to an informed public debate across Europe.

In the first round, a total of 19 media outlets will receive funding and strategic capacity building to test and try out new ideas.

The 19 media outlets are from Czechia (1), Finland (1), France (2), Hungary (2), Italy (1), Latvia (1), Netherlands (1), Poland (4), Portugal (2), Romania (2), Slovenia (1), and Spain (1). The total amount distributed among the 17 proposals was €599,520. 

Check the list of the granted media outlets and read more about each project: 

An independent jury selected the aforementioned projects for their relevance, quality of content and activities, project management, innovation and sustainability. These were four very important aspects that the jury board considered when choosing the winners. Apart from that, the jury valued their ability to demonstrate adherence to core journalism principles: fact-based, accurate, independent, fair, impartial and accountable. Last but not least, the impact of each project on a marginalised audiences and promotion of DEI was another pillar for the final assessment. The 19 projects will have a maximum duration of nine months. 

The jury is anonymous and it is composed by four experienced media experts specialising in local media from Europe. The jury decides independently about the granting of the submitted project proposals, based on the grant rules, the assessment criteria and the available budget.

For the first round of applications for the Pluralistic Media for Democracy grant programme, Journalismfund Europe received 93 applications from 27 different EU and non-EU countries. They are registered/domiciled in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. The jury had to make some tough choices to choose the best projects to be supported.

The next deadline is Thursday 12 June 2025 at 1 PM CEST. If you have more questions regarding the fund, book your pre-application session here to increase your chances of getting the grant. 

The Pluralistic Media for Democracy project is a 24-month project co-funded by the European Union and launched by Journalismfund Europe and IMS. 

For more information about the #PluralisticMedia4Democracy project, click here. 

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The Media Pluralism Fund is operated by Journalismfund Europe and the Capacity Building and Mentorship is run by IMS (International Media Support). This project is co-funded by the European Commission and the King Baudouin Foundation.

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