The AMIC assembly, held at the Castell del Remei in Penelles (la Noguera), ratified on Friday by a large majority the appointment of Ramon Torrents as the new president. Torrents succeeds Ramon Grau, editor of the Tot Mèdia group, who led the entity for 17 years across two terms. AMIC brings together approximately 600 print publications, digital media, local television and radio stations, and content creators from Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands, Andorra, and Northern Catalonia.
Ramon Torrents, co-editor of the Diaris SOM network in Vallès Oriental and linked to the Abacus cooperative, has 35 years of experience in local media. He was one of the initiators of the publishing cooperative Contrapunt Diari de Mollet i Baix Vallès, the precursor to Diaris SOM, and currently manages the print and digital editions of SomGr অত্যা and SomlesFranqueses, as well as the regional digital newspaper SomVallès.
During his address at the assembly, attended by around 120 participants, Torrents emphasized the importance of administrative support to ensure the viability of local media and those in the Catalan language, calling them an "essential public service." Looking ahead to the entity's upcoming 30th anniversary, he expressed enthusiasm and "boldness," highlighting the need for "ambition, generosity, a broad perspective, alliances, and an unwavering commitment to representation" to influence regulatory debates.
The new president concluded that local media are "an elemental device of the country" crucial for "social cohesion, combating disinformation, and driving the sector towards professionalization, business solvency, and responsible communication."
For his part, Ramon Grau, who chaired AMIC in two terms (1997-2003 and 2015-present), highlighted the association's collective success as a "benchmark for local communication," while acknowledging the "simple challenges" and "great uncertainty" of the sector, calling for "building a shared voice."
The event also saw the presence of Marc Melillas, Director General of Communication Media for the Generalitat, who advocated for the relevance of media and defended balanced public funding to guarantee their independence.
Within the assembly, AMIC signed collaboration agreements with Hekimen (Basque Country) and the Asociación de Medios en Galego (AMEGA) to strengthen the communication space of native linguistic communities. The Escat Mèdia project was presented, a network between Northern Catalonia and the Girona region to generate content in Catalan, and Piren’IA Media, an artificial intelligence platform for local media.
The assembly also served to honor the former Secretary General Josep Ritort, recognizing his "immeasurable, persistent, and selfless dedication." The board of directors also includes Joan Camp, editor of La Mira, as vice-president.
