The Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) at the European University Institute (EUI), published the final report for the LM4D (Local Media for Democracy) Project.

The study “Uncovering news deserts in Europe. Risks and opportunities for local and community media in the EU” by the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom (CMPF) was published today. This research detects challenges and opportunities for local and community media in the 27 EU Member States, analysing the news deserts phenomenon from a holistic perspective.

A network of researchers spanning all the 27 EU Member States ran the investigation, using the methodology developed by CMPF. They assessed risks based on 55 variables that relate to the local media market conditions; local journalists’ safety and working conditions, local outlets’ editorial independence and social inclusiveness. The study also highlights examples of best practices in the local and community media sector that could greatly benefit a vibrant and open local public sphere.

The data gathered on the locations of local and community media was used to create interactive maps covering roughly half of the EU-27. This underscores a considerable lack of data on not only the geographical distribution of local media, but also their financial information, revenues and locally-focused audience measurements throughout the EU.

The research is part of the Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) project (co-funded by the European Union), run in collaboration with the European Federation of Journalists, Journalismfund and International Media Support.

This is the project page, from where you can access the main results' page. Clicking on the map you will access the country pages and factsheets.

The Malta Report was compiled and written by Louiselle Vassallo, a member of the academic staff within the Department of Media and Communications at the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Science.

The Malta Factsheet may be accessed online.