The Prisa group reported this Friday that next season will begin with a new face at the helm of the morning show Hoy por hoy, the leading radio magazine in Spain, which has been presented by Àngels Barceló since 2019. The move comes after the Catalan journalist declined to renew her contract, after 21 years at the station. "I am infinitely grateful for the loyalty and trust of the listeners, my teams, and my collaborators," reads the statement included in the group's official note announcing this change, which, conversely, does not include any thanks to the company or the station.

“Stand up, Jean Louise, your father is passing.” The memorable line from the film To Kill a Mockingbird, which encapsulates the dignity of the vanquished hero, could have sounded this Thursday night when the last episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired on CBS. The network insists that the decision to withdraw a format that has been rooted in the network since 1993 – when David Letterman hosted it – is purely financial due to the 40 million in losses it generated, despite being a leader in its time slot. But many see Trump's hand in it, considering that for eleven years the comedian has been one of the most critical of the American president, and that the network is making an unequivocal shift to the right.

The book is called The future of truth [The future of truth] and contains interesting reflections on the impact of artificial intelligence on our lives. One of the quotes included is from journalist Kara Swisher and says: “The most sophisticated AI model is like a mirror. It reflects our own morality back at us, polished and articulated, but hollow beneath the surface, ultimately. It is not constrained by Asimov's laws or any other ethical framework, but is bound by the patterns of the data it has been trained on and the goals set by its creators”. There's a problem, though. Swisher never said that. Apparently, an AI supplied the author of the essay, Steven Rosenbaum, with an invented statement. “Besides, I sound like I'm talking with a stick up my ass,” denounced the affected party by the umpteenth hallucination of these nice text generators that when they don't find something they invent it, and off they go. Of course, the fact that a good handful of fake quotes created by AI have been detected in a book that aims to warn about the problems of this technology is, to say the least, ironic.

Guard change at the newspaper El Periódico. Gemma Martínez will be the new director, replacing Albert Sáez, who has been leading it for the last six years. The journalist was already deputy director of the masthead and is an economics specialist, after 22 years working at the newspaper Expansión in Valencia, Barcelona, New York, and Madrid, in addition to a period as deputy director of Levante-EMV. Sáez – who, beyond directing the Catalan edition of El Periódico, was also responsible for content for the different media of the publisher Prensa Ibérica since 2024 – will now exclusively maintain this role. Among the group's newspapers are also Diari de Girona and Regió 7 in Catalonia, in addition to numerous local and regional mastheads in Spain such as La Província, El Correo Gallego, Faro de Vigo, La Nueva España, Levante-EMV, or El Correo de Andalucía.

The imputation is a judicial figure that places the accused in limbo: the judge has detected enough evidence to open a case against him, but many things still have to happen before reaching a firm conviction. And yet, the media penalty begins to be paid immediately. The Zapatero case is paradigmatic. El País, for example, shows respect for the procedural moment he is in and headlines using formulas such as "The Court attributes to him...", "The investigation maintains..." or "The judge implicates him...". Afterwards, in the editorial, it admits that all of this exudes a worrying stench and that "the word lawfare, a way of sowing generalized doubts about justice to politically protect oneself from proceedings, is out of place in this case", but the information is careful not to anticipate events. That of the presumption of innocence, in short.

More predictable than an episode of House, the 'cave' has not failed in its custom of blaming Pedro Sánchez for the poor Andalusian regional results, as it did before with those of Extremadura, Aragón, and Castille and León. It is a common practice of the Madrid press, which inevitably applies its centralist steamroller and subjugates provincial elections to its national agenda – with a very Castilian 'ce' –; that is, to the assault on Moncloa. “Sánchez does not blame himself after four defeats”, headlines Abc. “Sánchez depresses his mayors and barons: “They don't see us as winners””, opens the front page of El Mundo: “They don’t see us as winners,” opens front page The charm of this narrative is that it coexists with a secondary spin-off, which is trying to show Feijóo's best smile, and to do so, they put a photo of the leader surrounded by his people. If there were ever an Oscar for best forced composure, here are some clear and sure winners. As much as they talk about Sánchez's failures, let's briefly examine this regional cycle for the popular candidate. In Andalusia, they have lost their absolute majority and five seats; in Aragón, they lose two seats while Vox gains seven; in Extremadura, they aspired to an absolute majority and do not achieve it (while Abascal's party skyrockets and can exert more influence), and in Castille and León, they also depend on the far-right, despite being the only place where they have managed to gain more than their rivals... and future partners. Considering the absolute disaster that Sánchez is according to their narrative, Feijóo's result has the strength of decaffeinated American coffee with skim milk and a hospital vending machine sweetener. Do you remember the 'Feijóo effect' that was the inevitable refrain of all these media not so long ago? Indeed, neither do they.

They were soulmates, but in recent weeks they have fought a battle in court with daggers drawn and the future of the artificial intelligence sector at stake. Elon Musk sued Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI – the company that created ChatGPT – because he believed that the planned stock market launch contravened the foundational principle according to which the entity was to operate on a non-profit basis, prioritizing the benefit of humanity over private economic gain. A California court, however, has dismissed this claim after only two hours of deliberation.

One of the most comforting spectacles on election nights is the string of politicians trying to present their results in the best possible light, even if they have lost oxen, seats, and all their possessions. But this ritual has another echo the next day, when the front pages appear in the kiosks. For some time now – specifically since the end of bipartisanship has complicated parliamentary arithmetic –, the emphasis tends to be placed more on the loser than on the winner, especially in newspapers most entrenched in politics. It is interesting, therefore, to see how this mirror image holds true in the case of Andalusia. Although Juanma Moreno has been left without an absolute majority, La Razón presented him as an unqualified winner and attacked the socialists: “Moreno wins the elections and Sánchez and Montero sink the PSOE.” El Mundo at least had the honesty not to put too much glitter on the PP's figures with a headline that began with “Uncomfortable victory for Moreno”, although it immediately rushed to add “although the PSOE suffered a historic debacle.” In contrast, for El País, the most annoying pit of the electoral olive was found between the teeth of the Andalusian president: “The PP loses its absolute majority in Andalusia and will depend on Vox.” And La Vanguardia, 20 Minutos,La Opinión de Málaga,ElPeriódico or Córdoba also published negative headlines for the PP.

From demanding 55 million euros to having to return more than 60, if the State does not have its way in its appeal (nothing will be returned until there is a final judgment). The National High Court has ended up siding with Shakira in her battle with the Tax Agency and considers that the public Treasury has not managed to prove that she was a tax resident in Spain during the 2011 tax year that was in dispute. The State demanded that she pay in Spain the taxes derived from all her worldwide income for that year, while the artist maintained that, having resided less than the 183 days that mark half the year, she only had to do so for the proportional part.

RTVE's boycott of Eurovision has led to a lot of stale characters who had previously disparaged the festival in recent years – let's be clear: ever since the LGTBI+ collective gave it new life – now suddenly adore the contest and express it on social media. This is the case of the mayoress of Torrelodones, Almudena Negro, who in 2018 wrote: “Is today Eurovision's shit? It's not worth turning on the TV”. On the other hand, on this occasion she tweeted: “Half of Spain watching Eurovision through YouTube (infinitely better than TVE's broadcasts)”. Or we could recall the case of the Telemadrid presenter Antonio Naranjo, Ayuso's media squire. In 2015 he opined: “Eurovision is like mixing a bachelor party, a graduation, and the Freixenet advert, but wholesale. And full of in-laws.” The following year he called them freaks and suggested watching him on Trece. On the other hand, these days he complained that “millions of humble homes that cannot go out for dinner or to the cinema or concerts will be left without seeing a family show”. (As if streaming didn't exist, anyway). Just as in the mid-seventies a lot of very fascist characters suddenly declared themselves lifelong democrats, a couple of generations later these lifelong "eurofans" emerge, I fear they are quite ideologically related.

In journalism, if one approaches it with enthusiasm, tenacity, and leaves scruples at home, one eventually finds the deceased. And, above all, the shoulders on which to carry him. This is what Abc did this week with the front-page headline: “Conviction for a fatal error in breast cancer screenings with Montero as Minister of Health”. The case, truly unfortunate, explains how a woman had a mammogram and, due to an apparent error, was diagnosed with two benign tumors that were actually cancerous. From there, and despite having several family history of cancer, she was scheduled for an appointment two years later, by which time the tumor had already metastasized and her life could not be saved. A court ruling states that if she had been scheduled for an appointment within a year, her death could have been avoided. Certainly, the professionals at the hospital in question will have to reflect on this specific case, but it is difficult to see how the responsibility for the misfortune can be elevated to Montero, if not for the determination to crush her campaign for the presidency of Andalusia.

When opened, Svetlana Alexievich's books cry out with the force of hundreds of voices. They are the testimonies that this journalist, Nobel laureate in 2015, packages and makes resound polyphonically to explain what chronicles and reports usually dilute in a sea of data, figures, and body counts. Talking with this atypical reporter of feelings is a peculiar experience: she bypasses the inevitable barrier that is established when the intervention of an interpreter is necessary, thanks to a deep gaze, the kind that communicates entire paragraphs. Alexievich visited Barcelona within the framework of the Ortega y Gasset awards presented by the newspaper El País.

Beyond the great historical television battle between Antena 3 and Telecinco, secondary channels also exchange elbows, especially intensely this past year. And with good reason, considering that since La Sexta and Cuatro tied with a 6% market share in 2013, the balance had been tipping year after year in favor of Atresmedia's channel, and to the detriment of Mediaset's. This, however, could change in 2026, because Telecinco's little sister, if we count these almost five months of the year already consumed, already surpasses its direct rival and this May clearly wins 5.9% vs. 6.3%.

Attention to the headline that is marked OK Diario: “Exclusive images of the Catalan person to whom euthanasia has been authorized: without crutches, shopping and driving at full speed”. Let's overlook the derogatory point that we sense when referring to a person who does not want to live as “the Catalan” and let's focus on stopping for a second and, yes, noting that the newspaper boasts of having filmed a particular citizen who does not want to continue living to demonstrate that, well, he is not as messed up as he says if he can burn rubber and go get tobacco and medicine. It would be good for the media to clarify what state of physical deterioration they accept before allowing a Catalan to exercise a right

THE celebration of the half-century of the newspaper El País has revealed the deep wound among some of the founders, who felt underestimated for not having been invited to the official commemorative event. No need to worry: they made up for it with a dinner washed down with wine and resentment, and have written about it. Juan Luis Cebrián, founding director and former CEO of Prisa, signs the most interesting piece, spitting at his successor at the company, Joseph Oughourlian, whom he called a vulture financier of null intellectual stature, and recalling "cancelled" journalists such as Fernando Savater, Félix de Azúa, Francesc de Carreras or Antonio Caño. Apart from himself, of course: modesty was never the main cebrianesque virtue.

I suppose Florentino Pérez's press conference will be taught in relevant university departments on how not to handle a crisis communication, as an example of the loss of perspective of those long unpunished. The informational caciquismo imposed by the president of Real Madrid –and by the powerful construction group ACS– shows interesting cracks, as Wednesday's front pages show. That Abc doesn't portray him well, after he stated he was canceling his subscription to the newspaper, was to be expected. But it is also interesting to note that El Mundo called this misguided public appearance “hilarious” and said that Pérez appeared “incoherent” and “repetitive”, two clear euphemisms to suggest senility. Marca, from the same editorial group, and which had traditionally been prostrate to his designs, speaks on its front page of an “esperpéntica” (grotesque) appearance, underlines the lack of self-criticism, headlines “Disconcert” and also highlights the worrying discursive shifts. In Mundo Deportivo they opt for a “Delirious” that forces us to recall the recommendation to be careful with words that can deepen the stigma of mental health, and Sport writes "Real esperpento" (Real grotesque). Valle Inclán, certainly, must have been eating popcorn from his grave.

There is something moving about Florentino Pérez's disastrous press conference announcing the call for elections. The matxuril·lades he let slip may even have a certain anthropological interest, but the announcement that he is canceling his subscription to Abc is a rather pathetic gesture, a misstep that exposes him to the public. It is evident that Florentino Pérez intervenes much more decisively in the media than by canceling his contribution of 400 euros. Within a few hours, the Vocento group – Precisely the publisher of the newspaper – announced that its president, Ignacio Ybarra Aznar, had resigned. The juxtaposition does not indicate cause and effect, but it can be seen as a suspicion that when Florentino cools down, you never know who will end up sneezing.

A lot of Almax was consumed yesterday by the media of the cave to mitigate that Barça has mathematically secured this year's League. It must be said that Madrid's sports newspapers behaved and did not deny merits to the blaugranas on their front pages: such has been their irrefutable superiority. As, on the web, had a referee considering that the elbow to Bellingham was a penalty, but the official from Marca, on the other hand, did not see it. Among the generalist newspapers, Abc does not give the news on the front page and El País, El Mundo and La Razón do so in a small way: on days like these, it is especially noticeable that, despite presenting themselves as newspapers with a state outlook, they are Madrilenian and have the same provincial quirks that they usually criticize from the periphery. In the Catalan press, of course, the photos are larger and the most hooligan headline this time goes to Mundo Deportivo, with a “Saluda al campeón” that makes it inevitable to think of the preceding rhyming verse.

Since the bulk of global advertising investment has been absorbed by the big tech companies that trade in our data, there is a consensus among the press that sustainability will only come if readers are the ones who fund newsrooms. Newspapers repeat this mantra in image campaigns because it looks good and is a pat on the back for the communities they serve, but too often it is a hypocritical cry, because headlines that champion this discourse with the other hand explode subscription rates. You can't say journalism is paid for and sell a whole year's access to your production for only 9.99 euros: you are devaluing your product in the name of uncertain positioning. It only serves to stave off hunger, basically. One of the discreet jobs we try to do at ARA is to break this inertia, but the sector's current is not favorable.

Jon González presents himself on X as an industrial engineer and often speaks – on social media, but also in the press – about the sustainability of the pension system, in rather apocalyptic terms. Journalist Yago Álvarez Barba has revealed, however, that BBVA, where he is a senior manager, pays his salary. That is to say, his main income comes from his position at a company that directly benefits from the perception of insecurity in the field of public pensions, as this encourages the hiring of private retirement plans. In his articles in El Mundo, González signs off as an “industrial organizer engineer and disseminator of the intergenerational challenge”, but no matter how much he takes refuge in the formula on his X account that the opinions expressed are only his own, there is a possible conflict of interest in sight and, at the very least, the reader deserves to know his relationship with the bank. In fact, the same newspaper does indicate that Rafael Doménech, another of its columnists, is director of studies at BBVA.