What began as a small regional outlet has, with support from Journalismfund Europe’s grant programmes, grown into a genuine community media platform embedded in and shaped by its audience.
A former Local Media for Democracy (LM4D) grantee and now supported by the Pluralistic Media for Democracy (PM4D) programme, Naše Broumovsko exemplifies public interest local journalism at its best. The women-led outlet focuses on minority and marginalised groups in the region — manual labourers, seniors, and young people — and actively involves community members as reporters, a practice that started during their LM4D project and continues to define their work today.
With the support of the PM4D grant, the team was able to significantly expand both their editorial capacity and their reach. They produced in-depth interviews and portraits of local residents, strengthened their network of collaborators, redesigned their website, and created a media library to archive and showcase their multimedia work, including podcasts and videos. These steps were not merely technical upgrades: they helped transform the outlet into what the team describes as “a true community media”.
The financial support was crucial. Without the grant, Naše Broumovsko would not have been able to pay its team of collaborators or afford the costs of the website redesign and media library — investments that would have been out of reach in their regular operations. The outlet first learned about Journalismfund Europe’s opportunities in 2023 through an announcement on the organisation’s website. Since then, the relationship has helped them professionalise their work while staying firmly rooted in their community.
During the project, the team faced challenges, particularly around decisions concerning the use of their digital platform. In this process, they received guidance from International Media Support (IMS), which advised them on possible approaches and solutions tailored to their project.
The impact of their work is visible not only in their outputs but also in the response from their audience. Local residents have asked them to continue producing the interviews and portraits introduced during the project. As a result, these will remain a core part of their post-grant activities. The team is also expanding its focus to children and education, supported by a Czech national organisation.
The story of Naše Broumovsko is closely tied to the broader success of the Pluralistic Media for Democracy programme. In 2025, across two application rounds, Journalismfund Europe received 246 applications (93 in the first call and 153 in the second) from 27 EU and non-EU countries — contributing to a record year for the organisation. Previously, in 2023, the Local Media for Democracy grant programme received 215 applications (88 in the first call and 127 in the second) from 24 EU countries.
The PM4D project is a 24-month initiative co-funded by the European Union and King Baudouin Foundation, and implemented by Journalismfund Europe in partnership with International Media Support. Through this programme, local outlets like Naše Broumovsko are not only surviving but evolving into resilient, community-driven media that strengthen democratic life from the ground up.
