“Regions” are not a political entity in Portugal. In spite of that, considering the geographical scope of the publications, there are many regional and local newspapers, but generally very small: for the dozen of dailies, circulation rates are usually between 5,000 and 10,000 copies; for the weeklies (more common at the regional level), there are hundreds, but usually small, rather traditional and not very professionalized. The largest ones (O Mirante – 28,000 copies, and Jornal do Fundão – 13,000 copies) are exceptions in terms of size.
There are also many local radio stations, but all very small too: most of them do not even have a newsroom or information services. There are no regional TV stations, because they are not allowed by law, which some consider “a serious democratic shortcoming” (Cádima 2009). The exceptions are some local web TV stations, diffused by the Internet, and the two regional channels of the public television for Madeira and Azores.
One of the biggest national media groups (Controlinvest) owns three regional newspapers. There are two regional groups of some importance at this geographical level, both in the centre of the country – Adriano Lucas and Sojormedia. The first one owns four small dailies (one only on-line) and one weekly. The second owns one small daily and six weeklies (plus two regional radio stations and a regional web TV). But they do not mean much concentration in a landscape where regional and local titles can be counted in the hundreds.
