Throughout the world, regional media outlets record and report the daily news of their regions in a more substantial and direct manner than national news outlets. Matters of national interest, such as the environment, local government and economy are covered from the standpoint of the needs of each given community. In this way, local media outlets constitute a local public sphere and a platform for exchange of views that is vital to the democratic development of every locale.

The need for Greece’s local media outlets to survive and thrive led the incubator for Media Education and Development (iMEdD) to launch a new initiative: Local News. With promotion of the quality and independence of collaborative journalism at the core of its mission, the iMEdD aims to highlight not only the value of local news, but also its vital role in the quality of democracy and public discourse on the local and national levels. Journalists are always central to this, reporting and analysing the news.

The first step in this long-term effort, which has just begun, is to inventory Greece’s local and regional media outlets in order to create a catalogue of local and regional media outlets. The future planning of iMEdD is focused on enhancing the collaborative culture and active involvement of the journalistic community in order to promote an exchange of views and the transfer of know-how and best practices for the creation of news content.