Local vs national journalism: “the difficult circumstances of journalism are transversal”

The conversation was part of the program on the last day of the Communication Days.

Elsa Moura, information director at RUM and Paulo Sousa, former Expresso journalist, discussed the main differences between local and national journalism practices. The activity took place during the last day of the Communication Days.

The two journalists recognized that “the difficult circumstances of journalism are transversal”. Paulo Sousa recalled his experience in the different environments in which he worked as the Diário do Minho, RUM (Radio Universitária do Minho), TSF, DN (Diário de Notícias) and Express. The former journalist recalled that he “always put journalism first, he had no concept of holidays or weekends”, contrary to his colleagues, which gave him several opportunities.

Elsa Moura highlighted that local journalism also brings several opportunities and brings multiple advantages. The main advantage that the journalist highlighted is the proximity of events and people. Elsa Moura confirmed that “there are several more local news items that only reach the Porto and Lisbon newsrooms many days later”.

Paulo Sousa’s vast experience in both local and national media allowed him to conclude that starting in a local media outlet is a “good option” for new journalists. The former journalist said that one of the advantages is that the visibility of the news is much lower, compared to that of the large media, and that this gives greater space to learn from mistakes.

Elsa Moura said that her interest has always been in local journalism. The reasons she listed were mainly because of the importance of regions being covered in the news and feeling represented. The journalist recalled that she was told that RUM “does public service”, which she considered a great compliment, for “the difference we can make”.

For future journalists, Paulo Sousa gave his advice “to be ambitious, but keep your feet on the ground” and try to find out about the most different topics. Elsa Moura highlighted the importance of the activities that the university offers, namely RUM, which the journalist expressed “always have the door open to everyone who wants to learn”.