Agência Mural is a newsroom powered by local journalists who live in and report from the urban outskirts of Greater São Paulo, the largest urban agglomeration in Latin America. The region includes 39 cities, 12 of which are still considered news deserts or near-deserts. We cover underserved and underrepresented areas that mainstream media often overlooks, where around 18 million people live, work, and build their futures.

We are here to make sure our communities are no longer an afterthought.

We were founded in November 2010 because media coverage of our communities was often limited, distorted, stereotyped, or simply absent. We exist to change that by offering a more complete, more honest, and more local view of what is happening on the ground. Our work seeks to fight information inequality and expand access to the information people need in their daily lives.

And we are not talking about minorities. According to the most recent census, socioeconomic classes C, D, and E, broadly understood as low-income groups, represent just over 80 percent of the population in this vast metropolitan region. Our main target audience, young residents aged 18 to 35, represents nearly 6 million people.

We are muralistas. We do not just report. We belong.

Our name is inspired by the Mexican “muralista” art movement, grounded in three principles: making art accessible to everyone, portraying real people, and prioritizing collective authorship over individual credit. Now replace art with local news and information, and you have our approach.

Our network of more than 70 local correspondents lives in the communities they cover. This matters. It means we understand everyday challenges, recognize stories that often go unnoticed, and ask better questions. It also means we build trust with our sources and our audiences because we are part of the same reality.

We publish stories that reflect the complexity, challenges, and strengths of daily life in these areas.

Our coverage includes public transportation and mobility, education, culture, access to public services, local politics and civic participation, and local business and economy. We work through a lens that is respectful, critical, and analytical. We amplify voices and experiences that rarely reach national headlines, always with context, nuance, and dignity.

To shift the mainstream narrative about underreported, low-income communities, we avoid centering our coverage on violence, public security, or feel-good stories driven by corporate public relations. Our goal is to challenge the two dominant stereotypes: that people in these communities are either victims or threats to society.

Our mission is to reduce information inequality.

When people do not see themselves represented in the news, or only appear in moments of crisis, it deepens their sense of exclusion. We believe journalism can and must do better. Since 2010, Agência Mural has worked to confront information inequality, which we see as one of the root causes that prevents a more just society from being built. We strive to ensure these communities have access to reliable, relevant information that truly reflects their realities.

We do not stop at reporting.

We produce guides and explainers that help residents navigate public services. We host events and build partnerships that connect communities, media outlets, and civil society. We experiment with formats, from podcasts to WhatsApp newsletters, to reach people where they are. We also train and mentor new local journalists through Clube Mural, helping launch careers and strengthening the media ecosystem with new voices.

Today, Mural is recognized as a reference in quality local journalism and is sought out by peer organizations and partners looking to recruit emerging talent.

If you care about reducing inequality and strengthening democracy, you care about local news.

Agência Mural is not only about local journalism. It is about representation and access. It is about fighting inequality from the ground up, starting with the production and accessibility of local information that matters, information that helps people make better choices and participate more fully in the cities and societies they live in.