No seguimento de um conjunto de pesquisas que nos últimos anos têm procurado avaliar os mecanismos disponibilizados pelos media para a participação dos cidadãos, as redes sociais, particularmente o Twitter e o Facebook, têm sido apontadas como novos espaços participativos. Questiona-se neste trabalho em que medida estas podem constituir-se como fontes revitalizadoras da participação cívica na esfera pública on-line. Serão as redes sociais mecanismos mais atractivos para receber a participação dos cidadãos? Num contexto de imprensa regional tentamos perceber de que forma estes jornais marcam presença nas redes sociais, alargando as oportunidades para o exercício de uma cidadania mais activa. Colocamos em comparação oito publicações regionais, procurando perceber como gerem a sua presença nas redes sociais e de que forma estas representam efectivamente uma nova possibilidade de participação.Palabras clave: jornalismo regional; participação; redes sociais; cidadãosFollowing a series of studies in recent years that has sought to evaluate the mechanisms provided by the media for citizen participation, social networks, particularly Facebook and Twitter, has been appointed as new participatory spaces. This work wonders to what extent they can be as sources revitalizing civic participation in the online public sphere. Social networking mechanisms will be more attractive to receive citizens’ participation? In the context of regional press as well we try to understand how newspapers are present in social networks, expanding opportunities for the exercise of active citizenship. To achieve this place, we compare eight regional publications studied in the project “Citizens’ Agenda”, sensing how they manage their presence on social networks and how they actually represent a new possibility of participation.Keywords: regional journalism; participation; social networks; citizens; newspapersFollowing a series of studies in recent years that has sought to evaluate the mechanisms provided by the media for citizen participation, social networks, particularly Facebook and Twitter, has been appointed as new participatory spaces. This work wonders to what extent they can be as sources revitalizing civic participation in the online public sphere. Social networking mechanisms will be more attractive to receive citizens’ participation? In the context of regional press as well we try to understand how newspapers are present in social networks, expanding opportunities for the exercise of active citizenship. To achieve this place, we compare eight regional publications studied in the project “Citizens’ Agenda”, sensing how they manage their presence on social networks and how they actually represent a new possibility of participation. Keywords: regional journalism; participation; social networks; citizens; newspapers