In Democracy As in Dictatorship

Abstract

During the Spanish transition to democracy, media liberalization mostly affected newspapers and magazines. As for news agencies, the official Efe, founded in 1939, was favored by both dictatorial and democratic governments, which considered it as a strategic instrument to support dictatorship or foster democracy depending on the historical context. Europa Press, a private news agency founded in 1957, became its main competitor and earned high reputation by taking advantage of the news stories that Efe did not dare to cover because of its political ties. The Minister of Information attempted to close down the agency but he finally was dismissed due to internal political struggles. The situation, however, did not change either during the transition to democracy (1975–82) or the first Socialist government (1982–86). In both periods, the ruling parties boosted Efe through different means and sought the economic suffocation of Europa Press. Based on documents from the archive of Antonio Herrero, director of Europa Press between 1964 and 1989, this article analyzes the most significant episodes of government pressures on this agency and the arguments used to justify them. Conclusions on the relationship between news agencies and the State in processes of transition to democracy are also reached.