“The State of Press Freedom in Spain: 2015” presents the findings of a Dec. 2014 joint international fact-finding mission to Spain led by IPI and joined be representatives of Access Info Europe (AIE), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the Open Society Foundation (OSF).
The 50-page report identifies seven key challenges to freedom of expression in Spain, including threats to the independence of Spain’s public broadcaster (RTVE); the lack of a dedicated independent broadcast regulator at the national level; a need for increased transparency in the allocation of government advertising; restrictive new legal norms, including the Public Security Law; and newly passed transparency legislation that does not meet international standards.
As part of the December mission delegates held over 35 meetings with media, civil society and government actors in both Madrid and Barcelona. The annex to the report contains a full list of meetings, which were arranged with a view toward hearing from as diverse a range of voices as possible. The mission met with key players among Spain’s established media houses, including El Mundo, El País and ABC, while also seeking the views of the “digital natives” – new outlets born in the digital ecosystem.
