International Journal of Iberian Studies - The Press and Political Transition in the Iberian Peninsula, Sept 2020

The transformations in Spain from the 1960s onwards in relation to communication resulted in a new legislation that allowed a certain liberalization to try to legitimize the Franco regime. Despite the information repression, some media outlets (especially magazines) became channels for the dissemination of democratic ideas and spaces for debate. In addition, the lack of consolidation in the socialization of the values of the ‘18 of July’ in the first stages of the dictatorship led to a more successful technocratic socialization to favour the depoliticization and demobilization of Spanish society. The interpretations on how this communication pseudo-space was decisive, during the last years of the Franco regime, for the formation of public opinion in democratic Spain have not taken into account a significant factor that allows overcoming the opposition between the emergence of civil society and the persistence of some values from Francoism. This factor is the enormous disparity in culture and media consumption, with its reflection in education and, more generally, in economic inequality.

Las transformaciones en España a partir de los años sesenta en el ámbito de la comunicación tuvieron como resultado una nueva legislación que permitió cierta liberalización dirigida a legitimar el Franquismo. A pesar de la represión informa-tiva, algunos medios (especialmente las revistas) se convirtieron en canales de difusión de ideas democráticas y espacios de debate. Además, el fracaso en la sociali- zación de los valores del ‘18 de julio’ durante las primeras etapas de la dictadura condujo a una socialización tecnocrática más exitosa a favor de la despolitización y desmovilización de la sociedad española. Las interpretaciones sobre cómo la formación de este pseudo-espacio comunicativo influyó, durante los últimos años del Franquismo, en la formación de la opinión pública en la España democrática no han tenido en cuenta un factor significativo, que permite superar las tesis contrapuestas del surgimiento de la sociedad civil y de la persistencia de algunos valores del Franquismo. Este factor es la enorme disparidad en el consumo cultural y mediático, con su reflejo en la educación y, más en general, en la desigualdad económica.

By considering the Portuguese revolutionary process of 1974–75 as a mediatic event, this article addresses aspects of the internal logic of information flow in the western context, heavily influenced and mediated by the frame of the Cold War. Initiated by a military coup, intended to put an end to 48 years of an authoritarian regime and thirteen years of colonial wars, the revolutionary process lasted about nineteen months and brought about such a change in the country’s social, political and economic structures that the constitution approved in 1976, included the goal of ensuring a transition to socialism. Meanwhile the hegemonic power of the main news agencies was the object of an international debate, with the UNESCO-sponsored MacBride Report (1980) offering proposals for the rebalancing of information. Focusing on this process as a mediatic event highlights the power of news agencies, influential even in contexts of informative restriction (as in the Spanish case) and responsible, to a large extent, for the dominant negativity of the event’s portrayal. This was the origin of increasing tensions between revolutionary political subjects and foreign correspondents, and also of the activation of forms of resistance, such as the agency Inter Press Service (IPS), whose aim to counter the dominant logic inscribes it in the North–South dialogue.

Partindo do processo revolucionário português de 1974–75 enquanto evento mediático este artigo analisa aspectos da lógica subjacente ao fluxo informativo, no contexto ocidental, fortemente influenciado pelo enquadramento da guerra fria, determinantes na sua mediação. Iniciado por um golpe militar que põe fim a 48 anos de regime autoritário e 13 de guerras coloniais, o processo revolucionário provocou, durante cerca de 19 meses, uma mudança nas estruturas sociais, políticas e económicas do país capaz de deixar inscrita a transição para o socialismo na Constituição aprovada em 1976. Paralelamente, o poder hegemónico das principais agências noticiosas era alvo de escrutínio internacional, reunindo o relatório Macbride (1980) da UNESCO, propostas para um equilíbrio informativo. Enquanto evento mediático, este processo evidencia aspectos deste debate, nomeadamente o poder das agências noticiosas, influentes até em contextos de restrição de liberdade de informação, como o espanhol, responsáveis, em grande medida, pela negatividade com que o evento é propagado neste fluxo, espoletando tensões entre sujeitos políticos revolucionários e correspondentes estrangeiros e, por último, o aparecimento de formas de resistência, como a pequena agência Inter Press Service (IPS), cujo objetivo de contrariar a lógica dominante a inscreve no campo do diálogo Norte-sul.

This study describes the relations between the press and political power, during the Spanish transition to democracy in the late 1970s, focusing on discursive relations between political actors with power or challenging power and the media which interpreted their developments. It analyses how the main media, in the discourse of their news stories and editorials, framed events to construct a ‘reality’ for the public, aiding or impeding the construction of a democratic public sphere. The study is based on an analysis of journalistic discourse in ABC, La Vanguardia, El País (daily newspapers) and Triunfo (a weekly political magazine) in their coverage of key events in the period between the death of Franco (November 1975) and the approval of the Basque and Catalan statutes (November 1979).

Este estudio trata sobre las relaciones entre la prensa y el poder político durante la transición democrática, especialmente aquellas de tipo discursivo, es decir, las que se establecen entre actores políticos con poder, o con poder de disputarlo, y medios con posibilidades de difundir un relato sobre aquellos. Se analiza cómo el discurso informativo y editorial de los principales medios ‘enmarca’ el relato y construye así una ‘realidad’ en la que los públicos creerán moverse y cómo eso, durante la transición a la democracia, ayuda o dificulta en la construcción de una esfera pública democrática. El estudio se basa en el análisis de los discursos periodísticos publicados por ABC, La Vanguardia y El País, como periódicos diarios y Triunfo, como revista política de difusión no diaria. Los discursos seleccionados son los circunscritos entre la muerte de Franco (noviembre de 1975) y la aprobación de los estatutos vasco y catalán (noviembre de 1979).

The fortunes of the two weekly magazines Triunfo and La Calle reflect the decline of the Marxist left in Spain during the transition to democracy. While Triunfo evolved from a position of resistance under the Franco regime towards a pragmatism that disenchanted many of its readers, in 1978, the creation of the new weekly La Calle represented a rallying cry to a readership that had already begun to drift away from the Marxist left, both in political terms and in terms of the kind of publication it was keen to buy. The study of the two magazines in these crucial years of the transition serves to exemplify the demise of the Spanish left: with time, both lost their market niche to more moderate and more profitable publications.

Dos revistas, Triunfo y La Calle representan en España la deriva que tomó la izquierda marxista en la Transición a la democracia. Mientras Triunfo, desde la resistencia anti-franquista evolucionaba hacia un posibilismo decepcionante para muchos de sus lectores, La Calle en 1978 tomaba el relevo de la izquierda más ortodoxa con el propósito de cohesionar en torno a sus páginas a un colectivo de lectores que ya se estaba disgregando política y mediáticamente. El estudio de ambas revistas en estos cruciales años de la Transición nos permite asistir a la debacle política de cierta izquierda que también acabó desplazada del mercado perio- dístico en beneficio de opciones más moderadas y económicamente más rentables.

This article offers a first collective history of the main satirical reviews during the Spanish Transition (La Codorniz, Hermano Lobo, Barrabás, El Papus, Por Favor and El Jueves), which comprised a publication segment aimed at expressing a barely recognized freedom of the press. The text describes the development of this sector of the non-daily press, satirical magazines, which burst onto the scene only to contract a few years later, in the early 1980s. The sector attracted a readership of its own, giving cover to a non-conformist, sometimes disenchanted editorial approach that challenged much of the so-called discourse of consensus, which was politically hegemonic in the press during the Transition.

Este artículo pretende ofrecer una primera historia colectiva de las principales revistas satíricas de la Transición (La Codorniz, Hermano Lobo, Barrabás, El Papus, Por Favor y El Jueves) entendidas como un segmento editorial que emergió con la intención de expresar una libertad de prensa apenas reconocida. Así pues, el texto describe el desarrollo de un sector de la prensa no diaria que irrumpió intensamente y se contrajo pocos años después, al principio de los ochenta. Aglutinó una audiencia propia que dio cobertura a un enfoque editorial inconformista, en ocasiones desencantado, que puso en duda buena parte del discurso político hegemónico en la prensa durante la Transición, el llamado consenso.

In the immediate post-25 April scenario, the Portuguese media adopted revolutionary language as the foundation of a journalism oriented towards political-ideological combat and social criticism. This hegemonic discourse derived from a reality characterized by daily changes and conflicts, became itself an instrument of political and social change. The primary goal of this work is to carry out a discourse and content analysis having as objects of study an informative newspaper and another of a propagandistic nature in the biennium 1974–75, based on a sample of words gathered from headlines within these publications. The studied media are the informative Diário de Notícias and the doctrinal weekly Esquerda Socialista. In the context of the transition to democracy in Portugal, we conclude that informative and doctrinal journalism merged within a single body guided by the commitment of journalists to the revolutionary cause.

O campo mediático português no imediato pós-25 de Abril adotou a linguagem revolucionária enquanto fundamento máximo de um jornalismo orientado para o combate político-ideológico e a crítica social. Este discurso hegemónico tanto derivou de uma realidade caraterizada por mudanças e conflitos quotidianos como se transformou, ele próprio, num instrumento de mudança política e social. O objetivo deste trabalho consiste em realizar uma análise de discurso e de conteúdo tendo como objeto de estudo um jornal informativo e outro de natureza propagandística, no biénio 1974–75. A amostra é constituída por palavras coletadas a partir do título principal das edições analisadas. O Diário de Notícias, de cariz informativo, e o semanário Esquerda Socialista, de índole doutrinária, são os meios estudados. No contexto da transição para a democracia em Portugal, conclui-se que o jornalismo informativo e o jornalismo doutrinário fundiram-se num mesmo corpo norteado pelo comprometimento dos jornalistas com a causa revolucionária.

When a failed military coup provoked civil war in Spain in July 1936, the Spanish government made a worldwide plea for assistance. More than 2500 British men answered the call, taking up arms in defence of the democratically-elected Republican government. While this show of international solidarity has been widely documented, much less attention has been given to the massive response made by British women. Thousands of women organized nationwide campaigns to send aid to Spain. One of these women was Frida Stewart (1910–96), a young musician with a strong social conscience. As is the case with so many other women, Frida’s recollections, her memoir and correspondence, upon which the following essay is closely based, constitute a valuable historical resource for the analysis of women’s experiences during the war and give voice to those whose stories have previously gone unheard.

Cuando un fallido golpe militar provocó la guerra civil en España en julio de 1936, el gobierno español lanzó una llamada a escala mundial solicitando ayuda. Más de 2.500 varones británicos respondieron a aquella llamada y levantaron armas en defensa del gobierno republicano democráticamente elegido. Si bien esta muestra de solidaridad internacional ha sido ampliamente documentada, se ha prestado mucha menos atención a la respuesta masiva de las mujeres británicas. Miles de mujeres organizaron campañas a nivel nacional para enviar ayuda a España. Una de ellas fue Frida Stewart (1910–96), una joven música con una fuerte conciencia social. Como es el caso de tantas otras mujeres, los recuerdos de Frida, sus memorias y correspondencia, sobre los que se basa estrechamente el siguiente ensayo, constituyen un valioso recurso histórico para el análisis de las experiencias de las mujeres durante la guerra y dan voz a aquellas cuyas historias han quedado sin ser escuchadas.

Review of: Emotions, Protest, Democracy. Collective Identities in Contemporary Spain, Emmy Eklundh (2019)

New York: Routledge, 250 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-815-38363-5 (h/bk), 978-1-351-20571-9 (eBook), £120.00/£40.49

Review of: Barcelona, the Left and the Independence Movement in Catalonia, Richard Gillespie (2019)

Abingdon, Oxon and New York: Routledge, 129 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-857-43962-5 (h/bk), 978-1-351-04687-9 (ebook), £45/£15

Review of: New and Old Routes of Portuguese Emigration: Uncertain Futures at the Periphery of Europe, Cláudia Pereira and Joana Azevedo (eds) (2019)

Cham: Springer, 281 pp.,

ISBN 978-3-03015-134-8, e-book, Open Access

Review of: Beyond Tordesillas: New Approaches to Comparative Luso-Hispanic Studies, Robert P. Newcomb and Richard A. Gordon (eds) (2017)

Columbus, OH: Ohio State University Press, 216 pp.,

ISBN 978-0-81421-347-6, h/bk, $89.95

ISBN 978-0-81427-567-2, e-book, $29.95

Review of: ‘A Banca ao Serviço do Povo’: Política e Economia durante o PREC (1974-75), Ricardo Noronha (2018)

Lisboa: Imprensa de História Contemporânea, 357 pp.,

ISBN 978-9-89983-888-8, e-book, Open Access