Measuring the small in the digital landscape

In Catalonia, the smaller media publishing in the Catalan language – usually calling themselves proximity media instead of local media – is a significant and particularly dynamic sector of the media industry’s environment. In a constant struggle to be visible against the backdrop of the state-focused Spanish media measurement systems, different approaches have been tested to portray a more accurate picture of the importance of these media, to increase their advertising revenue and also to assess the impact of Catalonian media and culture. This article analyses the effect produced in the audiences of the local media integrated in the Associacio de Mitjans d’Informacio i Comunicacio (Association of Information and Communication Media) by the changes observed in the Communication and Culture Barometer published by the Communication and Culture Audiences Foundation (FUNDACC). The objective of this article is to delineate the challenges that these media have to face to be market-significant from an audience measurement standpoint and how the media measurement institutions are a key player in this process.