Project Rhodopi assisted Xronos Media Group to grow sustainably, empowering local communities towards active civic participation.

The project helped Xronos understand the needs of young university students and audiences above 70 years of age via market research, and trained Xronos’ personnel to tailor its content accordingly. It also educated the target audiences by explaining them the work of journalists and the value of local news, and provided them free printed newspapers on a daily basis for one month.

Xronos is a regional news group, active in the regional unit of Rhodopi (East Macedonia and Thrace Region, about 105.000 inhabitants), one of the poorest regions in the EU, with a declining and ageing population, which is also home to the Democritus University of Thrace. The project helped Xronos address the main contemporary challenges faced by local media in terms of readership and income, and supported it in improving its business model and adapting its content to the needs of specific audiences.

More concretely the project brought Xronos closer to two particular target audiences: Young readers, and especially students in the University faculties in Komotini and seniors above 70 years of age that live in the scarcely inhabited areas outside of the town of Komotini.

Through market research, staff training and direct dialogue with its readers -which included interactive workshops and free distribution of the printed newspaper- the project helped Xronos grow sustainably, educated the target audiences by explaining them the work of journalists and the value of local news, and empowered local communities towards active civic participation.

Target groups

Xronos is active in the regional unit of Rhodopi (part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace in Greece) which has a population of 104.262 inhabitants. While Xronos targets all adult population of the region, the two target groups that benefited particularly from this project were:

1. The young population (18-30 years of age) of Rhodopi and more specifically the students of the Democritus University of Thrace.
2. The older population (above 70 years of age) of Rhodopi and particularly the seniors that live in the scarcely inhabited areas outside of the town of Komotini.

Goals of the project

In the short-term, the activities of this project raised awareness amongst the target groups’ members around the role and functioning of local media. Additionally, young and older citizens also gained awareness about the relation between local journalism and active citizenship.

In the medium-term, activities of this project and namely, the market research, allowed Xronos to understand young and older audiences.

In the long-term, connecting Xronos with external experts and stakeholders, led to long-term partnerships, strengthened the role of local media, and fostered inclusion of citizens of all ages in local life.

Implemented activities

1. Understanding young students’ and older citizens’ needs via market research.
2. Developing an adapted business plan for the newspaper based on the findings of the market research.
3. Learning how to implement the adapted business plan via training.
4. Meeting the young students’ and older citizens’ needs by adapting the content of our newspaper based on market research and according to the business plan.
5. Providing the adapted printed newspapers (1000 newspapers per day) for free for one month to young students and older citizens.
6. Educating these target groups on the work of journalists and the value of local news via workshops.
7. Gathering feedback from the target groups on further needs.

Impact addressing news deserts

The impact of the project in addressing and countering the phenomenon of news deserts was quite noticeable. Young students and older citizens better understood the role and functioning of local media. The audiences also better understood the relation between local journalism and active citizenship.

This led to a connection and starting of conversations on the common challenges they faced and to the exploration of possible solutions and available sources of relevant information. Young students and older citizens of Rhodopi therefore understood the dangers of news deserts and the importance of local media for their daily lives and became better informed and more active citizens.