The Vice-Ministry of Language Policy of the Basque Government has cut subsidies to popular initiative Basque media by 11%. On the one hand, the government, on the other, the parliaments, on the other, the municipalities, the cuts are gradually being imposed on us, but on a continuous basis, even though the public discourse recognises the strategic nature.

Strategic, yes, because we play a basic role in the normalization and development of the Basque Country. Because we reached 450,000 people. Because we have over 600 jobs. Because we generate economic activity close to EUR 27 million.

These are difficult times for everyone, we know that very well. The Basque media are making more efforts than ever to adapt to these new times: to seek new sources of income, to strengthen our business structures and to optimise existing resources, to develop new formulas for collaboration. We have not been intimidated by the crisis and we are investing forces that do not spare us to do things better. As a result of this work, the Basque media of popular initiative presented in March a document that includes the diagnosis and the common challenges of the sector.

Investment time. The media of popular initiative in Basque, in addition to calling for the creation of a joint reflection table, we have also put on the table concrete requests from the institutions: that the policy of subsidies be amended and that a model convention be established, that investment and development be promoted in the sector and that linguistic criteria have a greater weight in the distribution of institutional advertising.

We have transferred this to the institutions (the Vice-Ministry of Linguistic Policy of the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, among others), which in all cases have applauded the path taken by the sector and have shown their willingness to cooperate.

But the practice is different: the cut we have known does not help us to deepen these development routes and, worse still, it calls into question the very survival of some of us. In the case of local media, restrictions have also exceeded 40%.

As we have said, we know that these are difficult times for everyone. But, as in other sectors that are considered to be genuinely strategic, in this sector too, the institutions have to invest money. The large investments that the Basque media must make in order to adapt to the new times and restructure the sector cannot be subject to annual subsidies (we do not know how much and when we are going to receive). In order to be able to undertake the investments that will guarantee the future, it is essential that the aid be received by means of agreements.

Call for collaboration. We would therefore like to reiterate our appeal to the Basque Government and the other institutions to work together. The economic crisis that is on everyone’s lips cannot be an excuse for letting the Basque media sector die of initiative popular.Los Basque means of
popular initiative we will continue to need, in order to adapt to new situations and offer information in quality Basque. We would like to call on the institutions to once and for all firmly commit themselves to our sector. We know that difficult times are coming to us, but that is why we believe that it is more necessary than ever to make a strategic reflection that we have neither done nor shared so far, so that together we can decide which sector we need, once we have done this, to provide it with the necessary resources.