Government keeps 10% of media support for local outlets

Kringvarp Føroya (KVF) reports that the Faroese minister for culture is standing by a plan to reserve 10 per cent of media support for outlets headquartered in municipalities with 10,000 residents or fewer, despite criticism.

The media support bill has been submitted to the Løgting, the Faroese parliament. Under the proposal, 90 per cent of the funding would go towards operating costs and 10 per cent to local media.

The operating-cost funding would be split into a basic allocation of 40 per cent and a proportional allocation of 60 per cent, calculated from documented operating expenses in the year before the application year. No outlet could receive more than 40 per cent of its documented expenses.

The proposal says the threshold of 10,000 residents takes municipal mergers into account. To prevent outlets from moving their headquarters to qualify, they would have to have been based in an eligible municipality for most of the year.

The proposed 2027 budget includes 4.5 million kroner for media support, 400,000 kroner less than this year. The Ministry of Culture said plans to offer start-up support were dropped after a parliamentary election was called.