Yesterday waiting around in the doctor's office, I had yet another epiphany. I realized why the Spanish monarchy still exists -- to give the tabloids something to write about. From the pages I flipped through, it seems like these faux-journalistic publications may fund the royal family on their own.
Though they are without doubt interesting, and to my pleasant surprise included some photos of my beloved Johnny Depp, a discussion on Spanish media should really focus on more legitimate journalistic institutions than Hoy Corazón.
T.V. news and radio are very popular amongst the Spanish population. My madre listens to the radio as she cooks, and watching the news on T.V. during mealtime is standard for a lot of the girls on my program. We've noticed that the television seems to be a little more graphic than that of the U.S., but other than that, these methods are pretty similar.
The trends in the journalism industry as a whole are similar as well. On my first day of culture class, my professor explained that a lot of newspapers are having financial difficulties as more and more people are switching to reading online. The whole industry is having to adjust as technology changes. I felt like I was back in Nashville sitting in a VSC Board meeting as we discussed the future of journalism.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the media discussion for me was the politicalization of the press. The three major papers of Spain all represent slightly different political angles:
El Pais: This paper is the equivalent of the American New York Times. It is the most famous and notorious Spanish newspaper, and it leans towards the center-left in political ideology. The paper began in 1976, after the death of Franco as a liberal paper. Today it has become much more central in its political ideology, though it is still more closely associated to the Partido Socialista Obrero Español.
ABC: Though smaller than El Pais, ABC is another major paper, yet it leans more towards the right side of the political spectrum. More associated with Partido Popular, its enemies say the paper is run by descendants of Franco. Though this attack is too extreme, the paper does lean towards the conservative side.
El Mundo: In line with ABC's conservative ideas, El Mundo represents a more sensationalist version of news. It was led a campaign that about the "dirty war against ETA" in the 1980's and exposed police killing terrorists. The paper is owned by Pedro Ramirez, a controversial figure who had a sexual video scandal in the past. Despite the paper's sensationalist undertones, it still plays an important role in the landscape of Spanish newspapers.
Other smaller newspapers exist with varying levels of political leanings towards the left or the right. My professor demonstrated the significance of these different political backgrounds by showing me how the different papers cover different issues. For example, when the PSOE was experiencing divisive issues as Zapatero announced he would not re-elect, the Partido Popular newspaper published these stores on the front page, while the PSOE-linked papers kept the spotlight on the Japanese tsunami.
It's interesting to see the way newspaper can subtly transform public opinion by choosing what to spotlight. One can easily see who is trying to suppress what by comparing newspapers of different ideologies, which I find pretty interesting.
Cool stuff. Does anyone listen to the radio in Spain?
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