Viladot, Albert

Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert

PRESS AND-RADIO . 
IN THE FIRST EDITION OF CATA~ONIA WE PRESENTED A DOS- 
SIER ON TV3, CATALONIA'S NATIONAL TELEVISION; NOW WE 
WANT TO WIDEN OUR VIEW OF THE CATALAN MEDIA WITH A 
DESCRIPTION OF TODAY'S PRESS, RADIO AND REGIONAL PUBLI- 
CATIONS IN THE CATALAN-SPEAKING WORLD. OUR INTENTION 
IS NOT TO PROVIDE A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE CATALAN 
PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE, SO MUCH AS TO GIVE SOME IDEA OF 
WHAT IS O~FERED BY THE MEDIA, WHETHER WRITTEN OR 
BROADCAST, IN CATALONIA TODAY. THE DIFFICULTIES THAT 
SMALL COUNTRIES COME UP AGAINST IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO 
ESTABLISH PUBLICATIONS OR RADIO STATIONS ARE MANY AND 
VARIED. THIS IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE, IN OUR 
COUNTRY, HAVE TO FACE UP Tu.  IF  WE RESPOND ACCORDING- 
LY, IT WILL MEAN A GREAT STEP FORWARD FOR THE CATALAN 
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT THE FRON- 
TIERS OF THE FUTURE WILL BE DEFINED BY THE LIMITS OF THE 
COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA: FACED WITH THIS SITUATION, 
CATALAN CULTURE .HAS JOINED THE RACEeTO ESTABLISH ITS 
IDENTITY. 
T H E  CATALAN PRFSS 
CATALAN PUBLICATIONS NOW OCCUPY AN IMPORTANT POSITION 
IN THE COMMUNICATIONS WORLD. IF WE .COMPARE THE PRESENT 
SITUATION WITH THE ONE THAT EXISTED TEN OR FIFTEEN YEARS 
AGO, NO-ONE CAN DENY THAT THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT 
PROGRESS, BOTH IN THE NUMBER OF PUBLICATIONS AND 
IN THE NUMBER OF READERS. 
ALBERT V I L A D O T  J O U R N A L I S T  
C atalan publications now occupy rin important position in the communications world. If we 
compare the present situation with the 
one that existed ten or fifteen years ago, 
no-one can deny that there has been 
significant progress, both in the number of 
publications and in the number of readers. 
Nevertheless, the results can never be as 
good as those who have an interest or a 
concern in the problem would wish. 
Although the Catalan press makes a good 
showing in the communications world, it 
still takes second place to the Castilian 
press. Present trends show that the 
situation is evening out, but the process is 
a very slow one, and one which is influ- 
enced by many factors. 
Before continuing this analysis, it is worth 
looking at a few basic facts so that the 
reader can find his bearings. First of all, 
there are three Catalan dailies that come 
out seven days a week, each with its re- 
spective supplements. Al1 three provide . 
general information, that is to say, al1 
three report on current events al1 around 
the world, and not only on Catalan local 
news. They therefore include al1 the usual 
sections on international events, politics, 
economics, culture, etc. Their aim is to 
compete directly with the Castilian news- 
papers, which represent a clear majority 
both in the Principat and in the Pak Va- 
lench and the Balearic Isles. 
The oldest Catalan newspaper is Avui, 
which was born on 23 April 1976, the 
day of Catalonia's patron, Saint George. 
It appeared, then, a mere five months af- 
ter the death of Franco and with the per- 
mission of the first government of the mo- 
narchy, at the beginning of the so-called 
democratic transition. The legalization of 
1 DOSSIER 
Avui was one of the unmistakable signs 
that the new political situation was going 
to allow linguistic and cultural normality in 
Catalonia. The many attempts to bring out 
a Catalan newspaper during the dicta- 
torship had al1 failed due to the anti-Cata- 
lan persecution on the part of the Spanish 
administration. For this reason, Avui was 
welcomed by al1 the antidictatorial forces 
as a step in the advance of Catalanism 
and democracy. After the first few months, 
during which it had no clear policy, the 
newspaper started to adopt more de- 
cidedly nationalist positions and it still 
maintains this line today. 
Since February 1987, coinciding with the 
change of editor and director, Avui has 
shown an interesting change in presenta- 
tion and contents, which has brought it 
closer to a more popular style of news- 
paper. This up-dating, which is still in 
progress, has led to a slight increase in 
circulation, now officially 45,000. Avui is 
considered a national newspaper, that is 
to say, it tries to reach beyond Barcelona, 
where it is published, and the rest of the 
Principat, to the Parj Valencia and the 
Balearic Isles. The truth is that sales in these 
areas are poor and for this reason special 
editions, printed in Valencia and Major- 
ca, will shortly be launch'ed. 
A few years after Avui, the second news- 
paper printed in Catalan since 1939 ap- 
peared in Girona: Punt Diari. This publi- 
cation is the most widely-read in northern 
Catalonia, where the socio-linguistic 
situation favours the Catalan language. 
Officially, it sells about 10,000 copies, 
distributed to al1 the area around the city 
of Girona, with a special edition for each 
region. Punt Diari, then, is an example of 
a successful regional publication. 
To complete this description of the 
Catalan daily press, one has to mention 
the Diari de Barcelona, also known as the 
Brusi after one of its ownen of over a 
hundred years ago. The Diari de Barcelo- 
na in Catalan came on to the streets on 
13 March 1987; it is therefore the 
youngest of the dailies published in 
Catalan. But strangely enough, it is also 
one of the oldest newspapers in Europe, 
beaten only by The Times, of London. The 
Diari de Barcelona was first published in 
1 792, during the French revolution. After 
180 years of appearing practically unin- 
terruptedly in Castilian (except for a few 
years in Catalan during the Napoleonic 
invasion), Diari de Barcelona disap- 
peared from the newsagents for financia1 
reasons. Now, Barcelona City Hall, an im- 
portant businessman of the newspaper 
world, and other, small shareholders have 
decided to revive the old newspaper, this 
time in Catalan. 
Most of the Diari de Barcelonds 
readership is concentrated in the capital 
of Catalonia, although it is also sold in the 
other regions. According to official fig- 
ures, sales are between 15,000 and 
20,000 copies. 
The situation of the Catalan press is, 
therefore, good, but it still has a long way 
to go. The technological challenge is 
possibly one of the most important. It also 
has to overcome the language barrier. 
Strangely enough, Catalan-speakers, who 
represent a majority and belong to the 
more educated secton of society, read 
mainly in Castilian, because of habit, 
because of difficulty, but also because 
Catalan products still have to answer the 
challenge of competitivity. 
Possibly the problem is more serious in the 
Pa;s Valencia and the Balearic Isles, 
where, apart from a few copies of Avui, 
the Catalan press is non-existent. 



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Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert