Opinions in the face, please

If the other day I told you about the links of The Vanguard with CaixaBank and those ofThe Country with Banco Santander, to explain its opposition to the takeover bid that wants to absorb Sabadell, today it's time to explain that BBVA also has media allies, in which case they play in its favor. Let's look at the front page headline of theAbc which says: "The financial sector denounces the government's "cheap populism" against the takeover bid." As is usual, most of the opinions are from anonymous sources. Only two from the sector are identified: that of the president of the minority shareholders' union and that of the investment bank Alantra. Is this enough for the subject to be "the financial sector," thus, in weight? Difficult. At one point in the text, it even says that "among businessmen, rejection of the consultation is also total." They won't have called Foment del Treball. Or at PIMEC. Once again, anonymous sources are either unreliable or the refuge of cowards. Chronicles of these commissioned works—with the conclusion already decided in advance—are usually full of high-sounding verbs like denounce, regret, deplore either they point outBut in reality nobody complaint nothing: they just hide behind the shield of the journalist. And no they point out Nothing, because the only hand shown is that of the editor who signs the article. Ideally, anonymous sources should be limited to cases where they provide information, not opinions.

The reader is also given an important context: the historical ties that unite Vocento and BBVA. The bank was chaired for more than twenty years by Emilio Ybarra, father of the group's current CEO and brother of the former. The bank also led the refinancing of the media group's €45 million debt. It's no wonder they're grateful and pepper a Manichean piece with impossible-to-trace statements.