The culture minister said this Thursday that Lusa’s free service would allow “at least another 600 media outlets” to access the agency’s services, and expressed “confidence” that the next government would move forward with the measure.
“I am sure that immediately after the elections the next government will try to confirm what we have prepared, namely the free service provided by Lusa,” said Pedro Adao e Silva at the end of an urgent debate initiated by PAN on the situation. regarding the situation of Global Media (GMG) and the future of pluralism and press freedom in Portugal, in Parliament.
“We have been working to ensure that this rule comes into force in January and Lusa’s services are free for all media,” the government official continued, noting that “this is very important because it is exactly in line with the support from the transversal , a simple and effective offer” in all media.
For regional and local media, “the cost of Lusa’s services is very significant in its cost structure and therefore has an even more significant impact,” he added.
And he gave an example that “at the moment, 150 media outlets have subscribed to Lusa’s service.”
But with ‘free’, not only will these 150 stop paying Lusa what they pay, but we will be able to significantly expand the scope of this service” and “we estimate that at least another 600 media outlets will be able to access the service that this they do not have at the moment because they do not have the ability to bear the costs, at the same time all those who have already subscribed can now have more content than those who already have,” said the Minister of Culture.
“This is true for public media, regional and local media, as well as national media,” he stressed.
So “I think there is an important consensus on this issue,” but “the government is currently limited in what it can do and the actions it can take,” he said.
“But I am sure that immediately after the elections the next government will try to confirm what we have prepared, namely the free service provided by Lusa,” the government official stressed.
And he stressed: “This is a cross-cutting, simple, efficient and effective supply-side measure.”
The debate was marked by fiery statements from Chega leader André Ventura about the Bloc de Esquerda, pointing out that Mariana Mortagua “was a columnist for the Jornal de Notícias” and then ceased to be one, so he found it “very strange.” “to see the party, to take a position on what is happening in Global Media.
“So there is no conflict of interest,” asked Ventura, who also criticized PCP for wanting to nationalize companies: “These gentlemen don’t know how to do anything else.” Regarding PS, he asked the question: “Who prevented digital subscription to government services? It was PS.”
In response, Paula Santos of the PCP said: “Let it be abundantly clear that here in the Assembly of the Republic, those who miss the past are that Chegi bench.”
The PCP has “fought for more than 100 years for freedom” in Portugal, namely freedom of the press, Paula Santos said, interrupted by Chega deputies.
BE’s Pedro Filipe Soares says it’s clear why Andre Ventura’s intervention is “so consistent with an administration that is destroying Global Media.”
At one point, BE MP Isabel Pires, while Andre Ventura was speaking, called him a “liar”, to which he responded: “Your aunt is a liar.”
In front of an agitated Chegi bench, Eurico Brillante Díaz of the PS said he wanted to be able to speak “without being shouted at by the Chegi bench or asked to extend the Press Law, which separates ownership from editorial initiatives.”
Now “what Congressman Andre Ventura said here about the coordinator of the Bloc de Esquerda may simply be impossible because it is a crime. Because changing shareholders of the editorial group cannot interfere with editorial content,” he said, accusing Right-wing parliamentarians “of not recognizing the “separation between newspaper owners and those who make the newspaper’s editorial decisions.”
In turn, Alexandre Poso said that the PSD “will not contribute to this spectacle,” which he called “demeaning what parliament should be.”
To the culture minister, he questioned whether his time as governor and the Socialist Party’s time running the media for eight years had been a “real waste of time” as he believed there was no “framework for resilience measures” media in Portugal.
“We have done a lot in these one and a half years, Mr. Alexander Poso already yesterday. [quarta-feira] I had the opportunity to ask a few questions, but I must tell you that, on the one hand, since 2015, incentives for social, regional and local communication have not increased, which is what happened in 2023,” and “on the other hand, you haven’t read the State Budget” , because the incentive system is already being revised, the Minister of Culture responded.
“As part of the reprogramming of PRR, we have allocated 10 million euros to support the digitization of the archives of universal television channels. This is no small achievement as it is a way to preserve memories and make television collections accessible to the public,” he continued, noting that “he has already taken action and will present his action plan in February, which is what was planned, finally a media literacy plan.” concluded Pedro Adan e Silva.
PAN deputy Inés Souza Real assured that the party will request a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the situation of Global Media in the next legislature.
Livre’s deputy, Rui Tavares, said today that the party has asked the European Commission to open an investigation into the real owners of Global Media.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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