The ARA celebrates its 15 years of independent journalism with a defense of democracy

BarcelonaAll birthdays should be celebrated, and even more so when they mark significant milestones or milestones. ARA is turning 15, and this Thursday evening it met with its readers at the Palau de la Música to commemorate a decade and a half of free and committed journalism. A grand celebration with subscribers, public figures, and authorities served to relive the newspaper's exciting history, but also to discuss a future not without its challenges, which the publication faces with enthusiasm. Minutes before the event began, a crowd of guests greeted each other, embraced each other, and congratulated one another on the success of a newspaper that, in 2010, in the midst of the economic crisis, had the audacity to commit to independent journalism. Time has shown that that ambition, which at the time might have seemed crazy, was anything but.

As is now tradition, the event, hosted by in-house journalists Antoni Bassas and Carla Turró, also served to present the Carles Capdevila Award, which recognizes initiatives dedicated to the care of people; the Tatiana Sisquella Award, focused on social commitment; and the Ignasi Pujol Award, aimed at business initiatives. The first award went to Juan Carlos Unzué, who was unable to attend the gala but sent a video message of thanks. The Tatiana Sisquella Award was given for the initiative We've turned the page.A solidarity campaign combining reading and cancer research was recognized, while the Ignasi Pujol Award went to Openchip, a microchip developer.

Given the significance of its 15th anniversary, the event was filled with surprises and emotional moments, present almost from the start of the gala, when the voice of Tarragona-born composer Cristina López welcomed attendees with a piece expressly written for the Mediterranean. The performance was followed by a video summary of some of the most relevant events of recent years, as reported by ARA.

ARA Night is an opportunity to meet with subscribers, the heart of the newspaper, and also with some of the publication's most prominent writers, who didn't want to miss the celebration this Thursday. "I was reminded of a tour we did through the towns and cities of Catalonia to explain this crazy idea of creating a newspaper because we believed there was a new voice and a new country," recalled Albert Om. For his part, Toni Soler emphasized that the fact that ARA has survived the technological revolution and consolidated its position "gives added merit" to the anniversary. "Fifteen years ago, we were a country with high expectations. Now I also see high expectations, but also high fears. And to combat them, good journalism is essential," he asserted. Empar Moliner reflected on the connection with the newspaper's subscribers, while Mònica Planas revealed which readers she thinks of when writing her television review, one of the newspaper's most popular daily articles. Xavier Bosch made a powerful appeal: "We don't give up, we flee from the clickbaitAmong the ARA columnists was Najat El Hachmi, who noted that journalism is essential for "understanding the world around us." "Without it, you can't become independent and think for yourself," she stated.

Journalism to combat disinformation

Despite being a celebration of the newspaper's growth, the challenges currently facing journalism were not overlooked. Ferran Rodés, president of ARA, highlighted this, warning of the threat that large technology companies like Google pose to information. "The current communication model has victims; the first being the citizen, especially young people. The second victim is information itself: we don't choose the content, the content chooses us," he reminded everyone. However, Rodés expressed hope, noting that the first steps are being taken to regulate the role of technology companies and social media. "Catalonia is a small miracle because we have our own media system. There aren't many independent newspapers that champion the local language and have a team of over 100 employees dedicated to providing information, like ARA," he pointed out.

Following Rodés's line of thought, Esther Vera, director of ARA, highlighted that the sector faces three crises: a democratic crisis that calls into question the facts; a technological crisis in which large companies want to control access to information and prevent traditional media from reaching citizens; and an economic crisis. The newspaper's prescription for this scenario is unequivocal: "free, committed journalism that listens and observes." "We want journalism that doesn't follow trends, but rather sets the agenda. Our challenge is to remember that truth needs human beings who doubt, who correct themselves, who sign their reports," Vera reminded everyone, adding that the path for this journalism to survive is to have a strong community of subscribers.

The Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, addressed the attendees to congratulate the newspaper on its courage. "Today, information is a fundamental basic service because it is a space for defending democracy," the minister stated. For his part, the Speaker of the Parliament, Josep Rull, described the ARA anniversary as "inspiring and luminous." "The country is thirsty for these expressions of optimism and self-esteem," he told an audience that included, among others, former President Artur Mas, former President Pere Aragonès, and former Speaker of the Parliament Carme Forcadell. The Mediterranean sounds of Cristina López reappeared to give way to one of the new features of this edition, the first ARA International Prize, which was awarded to the Swedish-Greek writer Theodor Kallifatides. Vera highlighted that the author, a phenomenon in Catalonia, is a voice that represents concern for the vulnerable, but also fidelity to one's origins and integration into one's adopted country.

The new generations

The most touching moments of the evening came in the final stretch of the gala. The first cover of ARA featured little Graciela Noguera, the first Catalan born in 2010, and Dr. Broggi. Today, that little girl, now a 15-year-old teenager, met Oriol Broggi, the theater director and son of the surgeon with whom she shared the cover, on the ARA Night stage. Together they shared some of the reflections that arose while preparing the ARA anniversary event, and Graciela made the audience laugh when she confessed her dream is to be a Civil Guard officer and described how she feeds one of her many pets, a snake. At the end of her remarks, Graciela recalled something Oriol Broggi told her when they first met: "I think Grandpa would have liked this conversation."

While the audience was still buzzing from the conversation between the two, a video featuring the children of the newspaper's employees left the gala attendees beaming from ear to ear. With innocence, yet also brutal honesty, they explained what their parents' work is like and their relationship with the newspaper. They are the future of a society for which ARA has been working tirelessly for 15 years. Some of them are already showing promise, and when asked what they want to be when they grow up, they know exactly: "I want to be a journalist."