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.

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.

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.

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.

Traditional media are collecting the opinions of experts and institutions that are dispelling the ghost of a new pandemic like covid-19 in the case of hantavirus. On the front page of Abc, for example, we read: “Expert virologist on viruses: ‘The risk of a large outbreak is very, very small’”. Or in ARA: “Message of reassurance from the WHO: ‘Hantavirus is not covid, it is very different’”. On the other hand, the front page of El Mundo was much more sensationalist: “Experts warn: ‘Contagion is easier than has been announced’”. It not only generates alarm, but also excites, moreover, the conspiratorial idea of “They are deceiving us”, which is usually fuel for disinformation campaigns and the general Ikerjimenez-ization of the public arena.

Newspapers that during the Procés were exclaiming in the corners that Spain was breaking and that the most important thing was to maintain the cohesion of the entire Spain are taking advantage of the hantavirus crisis these days to stir up regional grievances. It is enough to see the headline in El Mundo on the matter: “Canaries explode against Health: «What is this that the boat is coming here?»”. A nice coincidence: not only is there the inevitable criticism of the PSOE, but the headline contains no information and relies entirely on emotion. We don't know who is making the quote, nor which poor Canarians are exploding full of indignation. All we are left with is an empty phrase, which is limited to recording this anonymized indignation with the aim of making it pass as collective and global. The tactic is identical to the sensationalism of the British tabloids.

The media construction of monarchs in Spain would deserve a book that would shame more than one outlet. One of the most delicious chapters, in case anyone is encouraged to write it, would be all the paraphernalia that is assembled to bestow upon them a military aura. It is true that, formally, with the crown of king comes the title of captain general of the armed forces, but it is evident that the decisions involving going to shoot shots here or there are made, fortunately, by Congress. And, therefore, the abundance of photographs we have seen in recent weeks showing Princess Leonor piloting warplanes is something more than a graphic confirmation of her military training: it is pure and simple propaganda, executed with the complicity of the media that pay homage. I'm not saying the heir to the throne shouldn't have military knowledge, but I would say that, in case of conflict, she would precisely be the last Spaniard to get into an Eurofighter and start handing out bullets with the Mauser BK-27 cannon because everything would be activated to keep her safe, sound, and well bunkered.

There was a minimal intrigue about whether José Luis Ábalos would turn on the sprinklers in his judicial declaration, but the accused opted for quite the opposite and challenged the Civil Guard to find the loot from all the corruption he is accused of. According to him, and as highlighted by "El Periódico" on its front page, the reason he didn't yield any cash between 2018 and 2023 is because a minister "doesn't just pay for things around here." In any case, it's interesting to see what the press that would like to put Sánchez in the dungeon will do with this meager testimony from Ábalos.

I interviewed Marc Giró and, as always, it was a party: headlines, wit, argumentative coherence and that touch of cabaret show that he masters perfectly, especially when the camera is on (because the part of the conversation without video was equally exuberant in words, but more restrained in physical expressions). Talking about how the far-right immediately attacks the body, and to explain that he meant it literally, he slapped himself in the face hard enough to leave a mark. It was a surprising clip, so we uploaded it to YouTube as a "short" and we discovered, to our surprise, that the platform applied one of its forms of censorship: it doesn't allow the video to be monetized, presumably because it interprets that it includes violence, even if it's mild and against oneself. There's no problem, because obviously our business model isn't based on getting guests to self-harm on screen in exchange for seventeen euro cents in the form of digital advertising, but I mention it because of the hypocrisy that arises from this Google service. Videos of Joe Rogan interviewing doctors who are against vaccines appear with ads without a problem, and I would say that the public health implications of one video and the other are quite different.

If yesterday I advocated for the press and not politics to define what journalism is – and, above all, what it is not and tries to pass itself off as such –, today it is time to try out a possible definition. We could talk about professional ethics, service to the citizen, or understanding and explaining a part of the environment. But if I had to reduce it to its most prosaic and refined essence, for me a journalist is someone who informs by following a method. As simple as that and as easy to deviate from. My first temptation was to appeal to professional deontology, but it is not necessary: following basic journalistic principles – seeking facts, cross-referencing them, narrating them with rigor – already implies observing the ethics involved in such a delicate activity. Ryszard Kapuscinski said that cynics are not suited for this profession. I don't know if he was right, because many of them have a splendid future in pseudo-media and morning television talk shows. But a journalist can be cynical, disbelieving, nihilistic, or a worshipper of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, as long as they follow the damn method, we will not be harmed.Furthermore, focusing on practice avoids us getting bogged down in the quagmire of moral considerations. The fanatics who invoke journalism to legitimize their harassment should not be disqualified from the profession for being aggressive, troublemakers, or bad people in general, but because acting from a political trench and with spurious interests has separated them from the method. In tomorrow's "Pareu Màquines" I will conclude this mini-series arguing why it is important for professional associations to be brave enough to draw a clearer perimeter on who can be considered a journalist and what consequences should derive from this definition. Nothing less than the future of the sector is at stake.  

The president of the Association of the Press of Madrid, María Rey, made statements in Congress calling for politicians to “stop defining what a journalist is”. She adds: “We know what we are”. Are you sure? Rey's words, who is also a presenter for a Telemadrid magazine –ahem–, come just as agitator Vito Quiles has just staged another of his stunts, harassing Pedro Sánchez's wife. His clique, including sectors of the PP that feed him –the same PP that governs Telemadrid, ahem ahem–, try to wrap these types of actions in the flag of journalism to gain legitimacy. Rey does not explicitly mention Quiles, but the coincidence in timing makes it difficult not to interpret her statements in the lower house as an attempt to leave the guy alone.

I warn you that I have no solution for the problem I raise. We often talk about the news report penalty that it entails when the name of someone judicially prosecuted is dragged through the headlines and news programs, but who is later exonerated: the damage to their reputation is difficult to repair. But there is an even more perverse effect, which is when someone goes through the courts as a defendant and, taking advantage of the fact that they can practically build their defense on lies, takes the opportunity to stir the pot. “Aldama tries to implicate Sánchez without proof in the plot,” headlines El País, where the weight of the phrase falls on the weakness of the commissioner's accusation. But there are newspapers, of course, with fewer scruples. El Mundo opts for “Aldama floods the trial with details of illegal financing with Sánchez”. We must applaud the newspaper's subtlety: these details – a deluge, no less! – will surely end up being transformed into incriminating evidence in the reader's mind. But the truth is that even Eduardo Inda – hardly suspected of professing sympathy for Pedro Sánchez – admitted in a video that Aldama had not submitted any evidence in court to support his account.