Lesson 01
Let protagonists stand there
The format changes when the subject of local journalism can become the person addressing the city.
Case 05 / live journalism case
Mensagem de Lisboa
A Lisbon newsroom turns local reporting into true stories on stage.
Location
Portugal
Period
Series ran January-June 2025; festival listed for 2026
Organisation
Mensagem de Lisboa
Format
Community live journalism
// IN A NUTSHELL
What this case proves
A local newsroom turns Lisbon stories into civic gatherings, putting protagonists on stage so community journalism becomes shared memory, not only publication.
// BACKGROUND
Before the room filled
Context 01
Mensagem de Lisboa is an independent, digital, community-focused Lisbon outlet rooted in A Brasileira do Chiado and led by Catarina Carvalho.
Context 02
Mensagem ao Vivo began at Teatro Sao Luiz on December 14, 2024, as a live journalism format the newsroom described as new in Portugal.
Context 03
The newsroom's wider work treats readers as neighbours and Lisbon residents as co-authors of civic knowledge.
// CASE THESIS
Why it belongs in the field
The case belongs because the visual contract is civic: the city is not a backdrop, it is the cast.
Historias Verdadeiras is a live journalism series produced by A Mensagem.
It ran from January to June 2025 at Teatro Sao Luiz.
The series brought true Lisbon stories to the stage through reporters, artists, and citizens.
The initiative offers a model for local journalism entering a civic cultural venue.
// HOW IT WORKS
The format has mechanics
Mechanic 01
The stage format brings real Lisbon stories into a theatre through journalist curation, first-person testimony, interviews, poetry, live music, illustration, and community participation.
Mechanic 02
The central difference is that story protagonists, not only reporters, appear in the room.
Mechanic 03
Published local reporting can receive a second life as a public encounter, with the city listening back to itself.
// FORMAT STRUCTURE
Format first. Productions inside.
Type tags
Community/participatory
Dialogue/forum
Nested events / productions
Festival de Historias Verdadeiras
2026-06-20 / Two-day true stories festival at Centro Cultural de Belem, listed publicly.
// PRODUCTION FILE
How it moved through time
01
The first Mensagem ao Vivo took place in December 2024 at Teatro Sao Luiz.
02
By July 2025, Mensagem reported more than 900 spectators and 180 participants across its live journalism editions.
03
A 2026 Benfica edition was announced for Cine-teatro Turim with the local parish council, showing how the model travels neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
// LESSONS
What the case teaches
Lesson 02
Use culture as infrastructure
The theatre partnership is not ornament. It gives a local newsroom a civic room big enough for public memory.
Lesson 03
Belonging can be an editorial outcome
The value of the live format is not only attention; it is whether people feel they have a place in the city story.
// BORROW
What travels
City as audience
Reporter plus citizen stage
Civic theatre partnership
Local memory
// DO NOT COPY
What can break
City branding
Community as scenery
Warmth without reporting
// SOURCE TRAIL
Where the dossier points
// ALL 12 CASES
Same form, different room
