Radio Ara in September hosted a 33-hour live show with Sam Steen to raise awareness for the station’s financial plight. A new media law proposed by the government links press subsidies to the number of accredited journalists working for the outlet. While the proposal levels the playing field between broadcast, digital and print media, it left Radio Ara--which relies largely on volunteers--out to dry.

“This is not the aim of the press aid reform,” Bettel said during his state of the nation speech on 13 October, adding that the government was looking for “concrete ways” to make funds available to the station. “I am confident that we will find a solution,” he said.

During the height of the pandemic, Radio Ara provided updates in Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Albanian and other minority languages to help reach the more than 150 nationalities in the capital city. It also runs a youth programme and a campus radio show with University of Luxembourg students.

“We were pleased that the PM has taken note of our situation and the important position we hold within Luxembourg’s media landscape,” station manager Lisa McLean told Delano. "This is a strong statement from him, and hopefully our needs as a community media will be met…let’s just say we are quietly confident this evening that we will get the support we need in the near future.”

The station--which was founded 28 years ago--is run by 170 volunteers and only 12 part-time staff. It also pays rent for its premises at the Rotondes in Bonnevoie and has to cover costs for equipment.