“When a local newspaper or radio station disappears, the community feels that no one cares”

Mélanie Lepoultier: We felt it was important to investigate whether the absence of local newspapers has a direct impact on local democracy. The result is that where they do not exist, or have disappeared, local democracy is indeed in poor shape.

Mélanie Lepoultier: Yes, that is exactly the point. The question of trust in traditional media arises. In some countries it goes even further. If I take the example of France, when we had the yellow vests crisis at the end of 2018, there was a great deal of mistrust – and sometimes even anger – towards journalists, including local journalists. What we also saw was that when a local newspaper or radio station disappears, the community feels that no one cares about them. When there is no longer a doctor, when there are no longer any public services, and then the sign of a local newspaper is taken down, it seems as if the people there are no longer worth listening to.

Mélanie Lepoultier: We have linked all these developments to the polarisation of political visions in many countries.

Mélanie Lepoultier: No. Not really. The congress makes this this report to raise awareness about a particular subject. That is also a point we discussed at the congress: how do we monitor what happens afterwards?

Mélanie Lepoultier:We try to make the point to the Council of Europe that there is also a need to deal with local journalists and local media, as studies and campaigns often focus more on national media. But we also have to look at the European institutions: what are they doing? Do they see it in the same way? Do they recognise the same problems? Or are they tackling these issues?

Mélanie Lepoultier: I do think people are aware of the situation. The campaign on the safety of journalists and media freedom is under way, and a platform has been created for the safety of journalists, where local journalists can also make statements. Journalists can report what has happened to them there, and the platform calls on the country’s government to respond. If the police have arrested a journalist, the country must sometimes provide information about why they were arrested during a demonstration or strike, and what has been done to protect the journalist and guarantee their freedom of expression. Even local correspondents – even if they are not trained journalists – are now victims of threats. This happens because they live among the people they interview or question. We are also very concerned about the concentration of media organisations in some countries.

Mélanie Lepoultier: It must be a nationwide system and not a local one. If you allow local newspapers or media to be funded at local level, the question of influence inevitably arises, and it becomes difficult for journalists and local representatives alike to free themselves completely from any risk of corruption. Local media have a duty to scrutinise the actions of local representatives, and they must be free from any influence. Some countries have created systems to guarantee the financing of local media so that they are not dependent on local funding. We must also consider large networks such as Meta and others that constantly quote and use content from local newspapers without paying for it. In Australia, Facebook has been persuaded to give a portion of its profits to local media because it uses their content. We are not yet doing this in Europe, but it could perhaps be one way of preserving local media.

Mélanie Lepoultier: We probably overlooked that aspect. We did think about local news media, but not specifically about the representation of minorities in urban or rural areas, or of particular segments of the population.

Mélanie Lepoultier: I have asked the congress to follow up on this report and see how things develop. I am sure that the situation of local media is not improving. The issue of minority language media could still be pursued, as it concerns regional representation. I think that is something I could suggest to the congress as a future area of work.