Abstract
New business models based on technology and the involvement of readers are boosting journalism in Spain, writes
A woman outside a bookshop in Malasaña, one of central Madrid’s hippest areas
CREDIT:Stockimo/Picfair
These outlets are gaining importance and interest among readers, and implementing new technology and business models. The question is whether the outlets have the resources and clout to hold government and public agencies to account and carry out in-depth investigations.
Somos Malasaña, (We are Malasaña), is one of the most successful of this new breed of journalism. The first of its kind in Spain, set up in 2009 in one of Madrid’s hippest areas, has a current average of 150,000 readers a month. “We believed that, even though local news in Madrid was being swallowed by national issues, there was an audience looking for hyperlocal information,” editor Antonio Pérez told Index.
Somos’s content is different from mainstream media and doesn’t replicate agency news, said Pérez. Hyperlocals are considered by many to strengthen democracy featuring voices that don’t normally appear in traditional media, such as neighbourhood associations. “Somos Malasaña became more than a newspaper: it is a virtual square,” he explained.
The readers’ involvement is the greatest value for the public, added Pérez, with the information collected having a lot to do with interacting with readers, as well. “We started by getting in touch with associations, cultural centres and businesses, as well as the city council. We became the best connoisseurs of what was going on. Now, authorities and mainstream media follow us as sources of information.”
Despite this, hyperlocalism can lead stories considered difficult being left out due to the lack of human and financial resources. This can include in-depth investigations on big corruption cases or judicial processes.
“We may have fewer financial resources and, certainly, there is less chance that big issues of significance happen in our area, but it [does] happen sometimes,” said Pérez.
The site concentrates on culture and useful information such as street repairs, the opening of new neighbourhood spaces and interviews with prominent figures from the district.
Many traditional newspapers, including nationals such El Mundo, are adapting by increasing their online presence. Spain, according to the Reuters Institute, has “some of the most diverse and competitive digital-born news brands in Europe”.
The same is also happening locally. El Correo de Andalucía, a local media outlet, has tried to adapt to the new digital environment, but with less success. Founded in 1899, it was Spain’s second oldest newspaper, focusing mainly on the city of Seville, publishing reports and interviews with local leaders and covering the neighbourhood. In 2018, it closed its print edition to become digital only because of financial problems.
The newspaper had been losing more than €100,000 ($113,000) every month for five years, the majority of the workers have been dismissed, and only a small number of pieces are bylined by staff. It depends heavily on agency news and press releases.
El Correo’s staff are reluctant to speak about the situation and say it is too early to assess progress. But it is clear it is having an impact on the quality of the content.
Nonetheless, this might change in the future, because the company’s president, Antonio Morera, is considering creating a “quality weekly for in-depth issues”, while using the website for daily news.
Being small also makes local and hyperlocal journalism especially vulnerable to external influence because of its dependence on corporate and public sector advertising.
Advertising remains the main source of funding (81.5%) for digital media, although public funding is growing in importance.
Media researcher Juan Manuel Moreno worries that “having a more direct contact with local companies, institutions and administrations, with fewer intermediaries”, makes this type of media more susceptible to “receiving interference in their editorial line”.
Thia isn’t just a problem for local media, Pérez says. “No major newspaper has dared to publish information contrary to a big advertiser. Of course, there are local media that would not survive without subsidies, and many others that are immersed in local council press offices. In any case, the journalists’ ethics should prevail.”
Somos Malasaña does not receive any subsidy and most of its funds come from organising local events. Only a small amount of funds come from local advertisers, and sponsored information is accepted “only if the content is relevant to our audience and remains local”. They say that projects such as Somos Malasaña annoy because they are uncontrollable – either by authorities or by companies.
In El Correo’s case, changes in ownership influenced its funding. It was even accused of being controlled by the socialist party PSOE, which in 2013 invested €65,000 in institutional advertising. At present, the newspaper is supported by Morera and Vallejo Communication, the company of El Correo’s president Antonio Morera. El Correo’s staff refuse to make any statements on funding and advertising.
“Hyperlocal journalism will be a dominant trend during the next few years,” Pérez concluded. Somos Malasaña and El Correo exemplify Spanish local media’s efforts to make neighbourhood reporting great again.