No amount of clicks to anywhere is as valuable as a loyal reader. “It is a virtuous circle. Large audiences must be earned. The conversion of a reader into a subscriber is what gives you the basis to reinvest in more journalism,” explained the director of EL PAÍS, Jan Martínez Ahrens, in the closing conversation of the XXVII Huesca Journalism Congress that he had with the founder and director of the , Ignacio Escolar.
The directors of EL PAÍS, the leader in subscriptions in Spain, with more than 450,000 subscribed readers, and -the digital native newspaper with the largest number of paying members, exceeding 105,000- addressed the reconstruction of the business model in recent years. “The click is reaching a page, reading it is something else,” said Ahrens, who put emphasis on data such as the audience of the cover, reading time or recirculation – that the reader continues browsing other articles. “I am interested in the audience to attract readers who are looking for quality journalism. New readers but interested in quality information,” he added.
Escolar, who led the talk, raised a reflection on the threats that journalists suffer for doing their work, especially the harassment of women journalists online, and the climate of polarization, both political and media. “There are parties and political figures that are legitimizing the attack, the permanent harassment of certain media and certain journalists. And they do it out of political interest, because they know that with this they are increasing, they are mobilizing a certain type of electorate (…) And that seed of hatred, I believe is the worst legacy that it will leave,” Ahrens added.
The climate of polarization does not allow optimism, but the support of readers does. “I am optimistic, we have never had more readers, more quality audience, than now,” said the director of EL PAÍS, a newspaper that will celebrate its anniversary on May 4.
“In EL PAÍS and for many people we are the left-wing press, the progressive press, and some criticize us by calling us the pro-government press. How do you manage that criticism internally? How do you think it should be?” asked Escolar. “One thing that journalists have is that our work is seen every day and now, with the Internet, at all times (…). We are an evidently progressive newspaper, but we are independent and we are plural,” Ahrens responded.
From hoaxes to ingenuity on the internet
Madrid journalist María Sánchez, senior editor of digital narratives and training in The New York Timesreceived the José Manuel Porquet Award and claimed in his speech the importance of stories finding their readers: “If the Internet has taught us anything, it is that journalism is not only what we tell, but also how we deliver it. If we want journalism to continue to matter, we will have to continue fighting this part of history.”
The Blasillo Award—created in 2003 at the suggestion of comedian Antonio Fraguas, and which recognizes ingenuity and creativity on the Internet—went to the comedian duo Pantomima Full, popular on social networks for their sketches of parodies of archetypes. Among them, humor videos and. And Ángel Huguet received the First Rural Communication Award.
He show of Trump was one of the most mentioned information challenges during Congress. Cristina Olea, RTVE correspondent in Washington, shared her day-to-day life as a journalist in a White House in which the president “has turned everything upside down in just over a year: alliances, campaigns, relationships with journalists.” And he noted: “We spend so much time telling what he says, because he says so much and is so striking, that there is little time left to tell what he does.” Only during the 48 hours of the Huesca Congress, the US president made headlines because he says he is no longer interested in the Nobel Peace Prize, because he considers that Spain “is doing really badly” in the face of the attack in Iran or because of his obsession with the shoes of a company that has denounced him.
More than 300 journalists and students met in Huesca in this annual forum to reflect on the challenges and opportunities of journalism, such as the situation of local media, the difficulties of reporting on conflicts such as the one in Gaza or the impact of the. “Health journalism has a very unique responsibility. Anything we write can determine behaviors that can impact people’s lives. If you get a hoax about a cancer therapy, you can put your life at risk,” said Pablo Linde, EL PAÍS journalist specializing in health.
The debate on health hoaxes also addressed the recent announcement of a supposed cure for pancreatic cancer in mice spread by numerous media, generating misleading expectations in public opinion. Linde explained how EL PAÍS decided not to initially cover the news due to the lack of scientific evidence, since reporting rigorously on these matters is essential to maintain the trust of readers and subscribers. Subsequently, a .
The four words that, converted into a mural, decorate a wall of the EL PAÍS headquarters in Madrid, would serve to summarize the keys to this XXVII Congress: “With the readers, always.”
