Girona journalism of the Transition under the ideological magnifying glass of the Civil Government

GironaRecently, a long list of journalists and pundits, compiled by the Ministry of the Interior, has been made public, in which information professionals are ideologically or politically classified. The news has sparked comments of censorship and complaint, because the action does not align with the validity of a democratic system, as it violates respect for freedom. But, in reality, the control of the press and the media has always been on the table for elements located in the spheres of government. The interest in maintaining hegemony does not usually have limits, and the anything goes leaves behind principles that could have been defended, as part of a moral catalog.

Let us remember that, in 2004, during the mandate of the Pasqual Maragall tripartite government, an internal strategy report came to light, which critically reviewed the editorial line of the media and made assessments about the profile and political orientation of the professionals who directed them. The fact is that public authorities are not passive recipients of opinion, but rather consciously try to shape it, organize it, and even control it.

Directors' ideology

In the times of the UCD governments presided over by Suárez and Calvo Sotelo, the request for reports on the political situation of the provinces to the civil governors was the order of the day. In one from the month of September 1980, at the request of the deputy director general of Internal Policy, from the ministry directed by Juan José Rosón, an inquiry was made regarding the media of the demarcation and the ideological personality of the directors who were responsible for them. The police made some abbreviated biographies and, beyond political affiliation, in some cases aspects of the personal lives of those observed were added. For the final draft, sent promptly to Madrid, a secretary of the Civil Government copied them, without altering them, in fax message number 620. If they paid attention there, they were able to verify that they had few allies in the Girona media:

·Director of the newspaper Los Sitios, owned by Medios de Comunicación del Estado: Gonzalo Garrido Gutiérrez (Salamanca [actually, Serradilla del Arroyo], 1933). Former provincial councilor of the Movimiento. It is assumed that at this moment he is a sympathizer of the UCD.

·Director of Punt-Diari, owned by Edicions Comarcals SA: Josep Pujadas Lladó (Girona, 1938). National teacher. In his youth, he distinguished himself for his Catalanist-type activities. He was prosecuted as the author of a parody, of an obscene nature, titled La llum del quarto fosc, about the life of Jesus Christ. Later he was an editor for the magazine Presència. At this moment he has evolved a lot in his way of thinking, which is reflected in the writings he signs. He can be considered within the line of the Republican Left, although he maintains contacts with representative elements of the UCD.

·Director of Presència, owned by the commercial company Presencia SA: Pere Madrenys Caballé (Sils, 1932). Former priest. Correspondent for ElCorreo Catalán. In 1978 he was director of the magazine Recull, from Blanes. Politically he is considered to be identified with the line of Convergència i Unió.

·Director of Ràdio Girona, owned by Ràdio Espanya de Barcelona: Josep Vilà Prina (Girona, 1927). Civil servant of the former National Social Security Institute, correspondent for La Vanguardia. A person of a very moderate character and, although he publicly rejects any kind of political manifestation, he is assumed to be in the center-right line.

·Director of La Voz de Gerona, owned by Ràdio Cadena catalana: Eleuterio Paniagua García (Joarilla de las Matas, León, 1916). He was a delegate of the brotherhood of Provisional Sergeants and provincial councilor of the Movement. A person of pure religious sentiments. He is considered to be in a line of political sympathy with Falange Española.

·Director of Ràdio Popular de Figueres, owned by Cadena de Emisoras Populares: Manuel Pont Bosch (Anglès, 1928). Priest. He was director of the religious magazine Vida Parroquial. He has always collaborated with the Catalan cultural work of Òmnium Cultural. Politically, he is considered to be of a left-wing tendency.

·Director of Ràdio Olot, owned by Medios de Comunicación del Estado: Marc Barberí Montsalvatge (Olot, 1942). Administrative officer of the Olot City Council, sympathizer of Convergència i Unió.

They did not record the circulation of the newspaper Los Sitios, but they did record those of Punt-Diari, and that of the monthly Presència: about 8,000 and 4,000 copies, respectively. Regarding Ràdio Girona, it was noted that the connections with the SER were the most listened to, and regarding La Voz de Gerona, the radio variety and musical world programs.

Quarterly reports

During the years 1981 and 1982, in the confidential quarterly report on the activities of political parties, the economic situation, and the political climate in general, the governor did not fail to mention the orientation of the two Girona newspapers. In the statement of June 25, 1981, Los Sitios was –according to the Civil Government– the one that had assumed the role of spokesperson for the chain State Government-Government Delegation in Catalonia-Civil Government of Girona-Provincial Council and Convergence and Union. Conversely, Punt-Diari was perceived as the opposition's spokesperson, and the one that had taken on all the Catalanist campaigns promoted by parliamentary and extra-parliamentary sectors, pro-independence groups, and on an international scale, pro-Mitterrand in the French elections.

In the report signed on June 25, 1982, it was reiterated that Los Sitios originated from the Movimiento press and was situated in the center space, while Punt-Diari was described as radical Catalanist and critical regarding the actions of the State government and the UCD.

In September 1981, the Director General of Internal Policy of the Ministry of the Interior provided a report on the same subject, this time only regarding social media outlets belonging to the State (television, press, and radio). The Civil Government of Girona, in its response to Madrid, once again characterized the actions of the newspaper Los Sitios and the station La Voz de Gerona, and expanded the description.

Of the first he praised it, without any doubt: This newspaper has known how to accommodate in its pages the different trends of opinion, contrasted by the other newspaper of the capital, Punt-Diari, published in Catalan and with a clear nationalist tendency, and giving space in its pages to propaganda news from left-wing parties. Los Sitios, in competition with the Barcelona press, has specialized fundamentally in provincial and local information, characterized by its objectivity and at no time anti-governmental. According to the governor's judgment, the newspaper was like this: It gives good treatment to the news. Perhaps there is an excess of presence of the opposition with no other objective than the search for greater economic profitability. The attitude towards the government can be considered normal and constructively critical.

Negative judgments

In contrast to the newspaper, it stated that the station La Voz de Gerona was well below the audience levels of Ràdio Girona, dependent on the SER, which was considered the most important in the province.

Regarding the Catalan television circuit (at that time TV3 did not yet exist), the opinion was very negative: It is usually of low technical level and this lack is replaced, most of the time, by information programs directed and commented on by producers and presenters whose political origin is known to all, PSUC. The word Spain in the Catalan circuit is practically banished and replaced by Spanish State. The disqualification was complete: Exaggeratedly biased when preparing the news and especially in the monographic dissemination programs. It should also be noted that its lexicon of strong words abounds too much, especially in the so-called cultural or variety programs, and is usually not to the liking of the viewer in general.

The concern for the governing party was present in the requested and submitted impressions. The governors of the time, Josep Donadeu Cadafalch (Terrassa, 1927-2012) and Ramon Codina Ribas (Vic, 1927-Granollers, 1984), who were at the head of the Civil Government of Girona during the years from 1978 to 1982, turned the institution into a delegation of the party that had appointed them. They were the transmitters of what was happening in the province and those who signed the reports, but the one who really cooked up all the communications with Madrid, in the shadows, was the secretary general of the house: Alberto Perales Salzmann (Tortosa, 1924-Girona, 2003), who –from 1965 to 1989, that is, from Francoism to democracy– occupied the key position in the institution's bureaucracy.

However, the reports on the media and the ideological portraits of the journalists required by the Ministry of the Interior did not serve to predict a brilliant future for the UCD government, then in clear decline. The measures to be adopted that, from Girona, Governor Ramon Codina recommended to them on June 28, 1982, could not be less unfavorable: At this moment, invaded by all kinds of crises, I believe there is only one measure: Sacrifice, Unity and Illusion. There are still many of us who trust that the future of Spain passes through UCD. An assertion, completely, unreal.