El País

Type	Daily newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Owner	PRISA
Founder	José Ortega Spottorno
Publisher	Ediciones El País, S.L.
Editor-in-chief	Javier Moreno
Associate editor	Lluis Bassets
Founded	May 4, 1976 (1976-05-04)
Political alignment	Center-Left, Social Democratic
Language	Spanish
Headquarters	Madrid, Spain
Circulation	369,707 daily in 2011[1]
Sister newspapers	Cinco Días, Diario AS
ISSN	0213-4608
Official website	www.elpais.com

El País ( listen (help·info); literally The Country) is the highest-circulation daily newspaper in Spain^[1], and one of three Madrid dailies considered to be national newspapers of record for Spain (along with El Mundo and ABC).^{[citation needed]} El País, based in Madrid, is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.

Its headquarters and central editorial staff are located in Madrid, although there are regional offices in the principal Spanish cities (Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela) where regional editions are produced. El País also produces a world edition that is printed and distributed in Latin America.^[2]

History[link]

El País was founded by a team at PRISA which included José Ortega Spottorno and Carlos Mendo.^[3] The paper was designed by Reinhard Gade and Julio Alonso. It was first published on 4 May 1976,^[4] six months after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, and at the beginning of the Spanish transition to democracy. It was the first pro-democracy newspaper within a context where all the other Spanish newspapers were influenced by Franco's ideology. El País filled a gap in the market and became the newspaper of Spanish democracy, for which role El País was awarded the Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and the Humanities in 1983, at a time when the transition from Franco's dictatorship to democracy was still developing. The paper's first Director (until 1988) was Juan Luis Cebrián, who came from the daily newspaper Informaciones. Like many other Spanish journalists of the time he had worked for the Diario Pueblo (People's Daily) which was a mouthpiece for the Francist sindicato vertical.

Its reputation as a bastion of Spanish democracy was established during the attempted coup d'etat by Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero of the Guardia Civil on 23 February 1981. During the uncertain situation of the night of 23 February 1981, with all the members of parliament held hostage in the Congress building and with tanks on the streets of Valencia, and before the state television station could transmit a speech by King Juan Carlos I condemning the coup, El País published a special edition of the newspaper called 'El País, for the Constitution'. It was the first daily paper on the streets that night with a clear pro-democracy position calling on citizens to demonstrate in favour of democracy. It was widely discussed in the news media that the then director of El País, Juan Luis Cebrián, telephoned the then director of Diario 16, Pedro J. Ramírez, in order to propose that both newspapers work on a joint publication in defence of democracy and Ramírez refused, claiming that he would prefer to wait a few hours to see how the situation developed. Diario 16 was not published until after a television broadcast by the king. Along with its commitment to democracy before the attempted coup of 23 February 1981, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party's election victory in 1982 with an absolute majority and its open support for the government of Felipe González,^{[citation needed]} meant that El País consolidated its position during the 1980s as the Spanish newspaper with the most sales ahead of the conservative leaning ABC.

Both the rigorous journalistic standards and the fact that it was the first Spanish newspaper to establish internal quality control standards have increased the standing of El País. It was also the first Spanish daily to create the role of Reader's Advocate (equivalent to the Press Ombudsman in Britain) and in publishing a "Style Guide" that has become a benchmark for quality amongst journalists.^[5] El País has also established a number of collaborative agreements with other European newspapers with a social democrat viewpoint. In 1989 El País participated in the creation of a common network of information resources with La Repubblica in Italy and Le Monde in France. Since October 2001 an English language supplement of El País has been included in the Spanish version of the International Herald Tribune.

At the beginning of the 1990s El País had to face a new political and journalistic challenge. The increasing political tensions caused by corruption scandals involving the socialist government of Felipe González polarized both the Spanish political classes and the press of the left and right wings. Since that time, both the Partido Popular and the media aligned with it have accused El País and the other companies owned by PRISA^[6][7] along with Sogecable^[8][9] of supporting the interests of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). Despite this El País has managed to maintain its position as the best selling generalist daily in Spain, although its lead over El Mundo has been reduced.

On September 26, 2007 the paper published the Bush-Aznar memo, a leaked transcript of a closed-door meeting between presidents Bush and Aznar shortly before the invasion of Iraq.^[10]

During the premiership of the PSOE's José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero El País published several articles criticising or opposing the policies of the Zapatero government.^{[citation needed]} This provided opportunities for new entrants to represent the centre left, such as the appearance of the daily newspaper Público.

Appearance[link]

The appearance of El País is characterized by its sobriety, both in the treatment of information and in its esthetics. Most pages contain five columns that are arranged in a neat and clear manner with distinct journalistic sub-categories. Photographs and graphics play a secondary, supporting role to the written word. The newspaper has had the same design from its foundation until the end of 2007, with hardly any changes (it only used black and white photographs, although the current format includes colour and more imaginative design, mainly in the varied supplements), and the same Times Roman font.^[11]

The format of the newspaper was revamped on 21 October 2007 with changes to its printed form, its digital presence on the internet and its historical motto of 'Independent morning daily' was changed to 'Global Spanish language newspaper'.^[12] Other notable changes are the inclusion of the acute accent in its title header and the substitution of Times Roman by Majerit.

Opinion polls cited in El País are all carried out by a separate company called Instituto OPINA.

Electronic edition[link]

In the mid-1990s El País was the second Spanish newspaper to publish an internet edition, El País digital (the first was the Catalan newspaper Avui). On 18 November 2002 it became the first Spanish newspaper to introduce a payment system for access to the contents of its electronic version, which drastically reduced the number of visits to the website, to the extent that El Mundo, which maintained open access to the majority of its contents, became the leading Spanish digital newspaper. After taking this decision El País digital was suspended in 2002 by the OJD for four months because of two serious breaches of OJD regulations.^[13] The El País digital website opened again on 3 June 2005 with free access to the majority of the contents. Subscription was required to gain access to multimedia contents and to the newspaper's archive.

Supplements[link]

El País produces a number of supplements:

• Wednesdays:
  • Futuro, (English: Future) supplement on science.
• Thursdays:
  • Ciberpaís, supplement on computing and electronics, and
  • The New York Times, a Spanish language version of the American original.
• Fridays:
  • EP[3], previously known as El País de las Tentaciones, (English: The Country of Temptations) youth supplement.
  • Ocio, (English: Leisure) supplement on cultural activities.
• Saturdays:
  • Babelia', cultural supplement specializing in literature and
  • El Viajero, (English: The Traveller) on travel.
• Sundays:
  • the magazine El País Semanal (English: El País Weekly) previously called EP[S] on fashion, reports and opinion,
  • Negocios, (English: Business) financial supplement.

The supplement designed for children, Pequeño País (English: Small Country), ceased publication in 2009.

A number of publications issued in installments have also been produced throughout its history:

• Classic and Modern Comics (1987).

Ideology[link]

The paper's ideology has always been defined by a leaning towards Europeanism. Politically it is situated in the centre-left and the left.^[14] El País has repeatedly supported King Juan Carlos I for his contribution to the consolidation of democracy, especially, for his decisive intervention in aborting the coup of 23 February 1981.^[15] The paper is characterized by the amount of space it gives to the reporting of international news, culture and information regarding the economy, as well as Spanish news. It has specific columnists and contributors from different social backgrounds contributing to the democratic and pro-European editorial line of the newspaper.

Criticism of Che Guevara, the "populist left" and the Government of Venezuela[link]

The paper has criticized figures such as Che Guevara and his idea of armed struggle.^[16]

El País has also been critical of the so-called "populist left" in Latin America. In April 2002 it termed the failed coup in Venezuela as a "coup against a tyrant" accusing Hugo Chávez of authoritarianism and of eliminating the separation of powers.^[17] The paper criticized Chávez again regarding the Venezuelan constitutional referendum of 2007 accusing him of holding the referendum without the least "minimal guarantees", of restricting the actions of the National Electoral Council and tampering with the electoral roll.^[18] The Venezuelan government, through the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information considers El País to be one of the Spanish newspapers most critical of the left-wing governments of Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia.^[19]

Notable contributors[link]

• Ariel Dorfman
• Juan Carlos Gumucio
• Fernando Krahn^[20]
• Elvira Lindo
• Mario Vargas Llosa
• Javier Marías
• Rosa Montero
• Manuel Rivas
• Eduardo Mendoza
• Empar Moliner
• Javier Pradera
• Ignacio Sánchez-Cuenca
• Maruja Torres
• Eduardo Haro Tecglen
• Pilar Rahola
• Juan José Millás
• Manuel Valls

See also[link]

	Spain portal
	Journalism portal

• Ortega y Gasset Awards

References[link]

External links[link]

• Electronic edition of El País (Spanish)
• Mobile edition of El País (Spanish)
• Global edition of El País (Spanish)
• El País in English with International Herald Tribune
• Libro de estilo de El País (Spanish)
• Premio Príncipe de Asturias de Comunicación y Humanidades 1983 (Spanish)

v t e Daily newspapers published in Spain with circulation over 90,000* News ABC   •   El Correo   •   El Mundo   •   El País   •   El Periódico de Catalunya   •   La Razón   •   La Vanguardia   •   La Voz de Galicia Sports Diario AS   •   Marca   •   El Mundo Deportivo   •   Sport List of all newspapers in Spain with over 5,000 daily paid circulation     (* according to Spanish Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión, 2011)

Dr. Denise Dresser.

Denise Eugenia Dresser Guerra (born 22 January 1963) is a Mexican political analyst, writer, and university professor. She is currently a faculty member of the Department of Political Science at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), where she teaches courses such as Comparative Politics, Political Economy, Contemporary Mexican Politics and Graduations Seminars since 1991.

Academic career[link]

Dresser earned her Ph.D. in Politics at Princeton University, after completing her undergraduate work at El Colegio de México. She has received research grants from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Institute for the Study of World Politics, the Center for International Studies at Princeton University, and the Organization of American States. In 1993 she was named Junior Third World Scholar by the International Studies Association.

She has taught at Georgetown University and the University of California, Berkeley. Dresser has been a Senior Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles, a Visiting Fellow at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies at the University of California, San Diego, a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Center for International Studies at the University of Southern California, a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, D.C., and a Fellow at the Salzburg Seminar.

Personal life[link]

Dresser is married to the Canadian, John Fleming. They have three children.

Writing[link]

Dresser is the author of numerous publications on Mexican politics and U.S.-Mexico relations including "Neopopulist Solutions to Neoliberal Problems: Mexico's National Solidarity Program", "Exporting Conflict: Transboundary Consequences of Mexican Politics", "Treading Lightly and Without a Stick: International Actors and the Promotion of Democracy in Mexico", "Falling From the Tightrope: The Political Economy of the Mexican Crisis", and "Mexico: From PRI Predominance to Divided Democracy,". She has published articles in the Journal of Democracy, Current History, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics and Foreign Policy. A more extensive list of her publications is included below.

She writes a political column for the Mexican newspaper Reforma and the news weekly Proceso and was the host of the political talk show Entre versiones on Mexican television. She has participated as a political analyst in numerous radio and television programs including the "Mesa Política" with José Gutiérrez Vivó and "El cristal con que se mira" with Victor Trujillo. She is an Associate Editor at the Los Angeles Times, and has contributed numerous opinion pieces to The New York Times and La Opinión, and is a frequent commentator on Mexican politics in the U.S. and Canadian media. She has also worked as a consultant to the United Nations Development Program, Barings Research and the Bank of Montreal. Dresser is a member of the Research Council of the Forum for Democratic Studies, National Endowment for Democracy, the World Academy of Arts and Science, the advisory board of Trans-National Research Corporation, the editorial board of the Latin American Research Review, the advisory board of Human Rights Watch, the Global Affairs Board at Occidental College, the board of the General Service Foundation and the editorial committee of the Fondo de Cultura Económica. She also served on the Citizens’ Committee in charge of investigating Mexico's dirty war. She is currently on the board of the Human Rights Commission for Mexico City.

She edited a bestselling collection of essays by prominent Mexican women entitled Gritos y susurros: experiencias intempestivas de 38 mujeres (Grijalbo 2004) and also produced a television documentary based on the book. Her most recent publication, in collaboration with novelist Jorge Volpi, is a book of political satire: México: lo que todo ciudadano quisiera (no) saber de su patria (Santillana 2006).

Politics[link]

Politics has been Dresser´s main field of work, both in theory and in practice. She has expressed her open opposition to monopolistic practices in México, specially against the legislative reform known as the "Televisa Law", which provides government support to the national television duopoly group Televisa and TV Azteca. Also against TELMEX and more specifically Carlos Slim, one of the wealthiest men alive, whose investment group controls most of the telephone and communications networks in Mexico.^[1]

Speeches[link]

She has also spoken on several national and international forums. The main topics of her speeches are the ongoing political and economic crisis in México, civil and human rights violations, responsibilities of citizenship, among others. Though in Spanish, provided below are links to her speech in the Mexican Forum: "Mexico Ante la Crisis", 2009 (as shown on YouTube, provided by "Reporte Indigo"):

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4
• Part 5

Publications[link]

• "Extraction Without Representation: Mexico's Dysfunctional Democracy" in Jorge Domínguez and Michael Shifter, (eds.), Democratic Governance in Latin America, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, (forthcoming).
• "Requiem para un romance: México y Estados Unidos frente a la inmigración", en Enriqueta Cabrera, (comp.), Desafíos de la migración: saldos de la relación México- Estados Unidos, México, Editorial Planeta, 2007.
• "La ‘Ley Televisa’: saldos de una experiencia insólita", en Javier Corral Jurado y Pablo Arredondo Ramírez, (coord.), La ‘Ley Televisa’: balance y prospectiva, México, Universidad de Guadalajara, 2007.
• "Mi Julieta", Revista de la Universidad, octubre 2007.
• "El periodismo forever", Revista de la Universidad, Febrero 2007.
• "El gobierno de Vicente Fox: Un balance informado y necesario", Nexos, 349, enero 2007.
• "Mexico 2006: A House Divided", Berkeley Review of Latin American Studies, November 2006.
• "Paisaje después de la batalla: reflexiones sobre la Ley de Radio y Televisión", Perspectivas Progresistas, México, Fundación Friedrich Ebert, 2006.
• "México 2006: una casa dividida", Pensamiento de los confines, Buenos Aires, Fondo de Cultura Económica, número 19, diciembre de 2006.
• "Retos de la participación ciudadana: Y Frodo?", en Acuerdos básicos para la consolidación democrática, México, INDESOL, 2006.
• "Ciudadanización vs discriminación", en Defensor, Revista de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos del Distrito Federal, septiembre, 2006.
• "Yo, ciudadana", en En voz alta: testimonios de medio siglo, México, ISSSTE, 2006.
• Con Jorge Volpi, México: lo que todo ciudadano (no) quisiera saber sobre su patria, México, Aguilar Nuevo Siglo, 2006.
• "México: cojeando hacia atrás", Revuelta, No. 1, 2006.
• "México: del predominio del PRI a la democracia dividida", in Jorge Domínguez and Michael Shifter, (eds.), Construcción de gobernabilidad democrática en América Latina, México, Fondo de Cultura Económica, 2005.
• "Reformar para gobernar", en Manuel Camacho Solís y Diego Valadés (coordinadores), Gobernabilidad democrática: qué reforma?", México: UNAM, 2005.
• "Mexico under Fox", Current History, February 2005.
• "Dilemas de la Democracia Dividida", en Alejandro Poiré, Federico Estévez y Alejandro Moreno, (coords.), México 2003, Editorial Planeta.
• Gritos y susurros: Experiencias Intempestivas de 38 mujeres", (coordinadora), México: Grijalbo, 2004.
• "Latin American Leaders: From Boyfriends to Husbands", Inter-American Dialogue, 2003.
• "Mexico at Mid-term: From Delirium to Disappointment", Woodrow Wilson Center Working Papers.
• "Mexico: From PRI Predominance to Divided Democracy", in Jorge I. Domínguez and Michael Shifter, (eds.), Constructing Democratic Governance, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003.
• "Mexico and the Western Hemisphere: Revising its Role", in Riordan Roett, (ed.), The Western Hemisphere in the 21st Century: Challenge or Opportunity, (forthcoming).
• "Why the PRI Lost", in Minxin Pei, (ed.), The Fall of Dominant Party Regimes, Carnegie Endowment for International Pleace and China Reform Forum, (forthcoming).
• Book review, Asalto a Palacio, by Guillermo Cantú, in Foreign Policy, January/February 2002.
• Mexico Transforming, Pacific Council on International Policy, 2000 (Member of the drafting team that produced the monograph).
• Book review, La Herencia: Arqueologia de la Succession Presidencial en Mexico by Jorge G. Castaneda, in Foreign Policy, No. 116, Fall 1999.
• "Post-NAFTA Politics in Mexico", in Carol Wise (ed.), The Post-NAFTA Political Economy: Mexico and the Western Hemisphere, University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998.
• Con Rossana Fuentes Berain, "How the Mexican Press Covers the United States: The Seven Deadly Sins", The Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 1998.
• "Mexico After the July 6 Election: Neither Heaven nor Hell", Current History, February 1998.
• "Falling From the Tightrope: The Political Economy of the Crisis", in Sebastian Edwards and Moisés Naim, (eds.) Mexico 1994: Anatomy of an Emerging-Market Crash, Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1998.
• Book review, Salinas y su Imperio, by Julio Scherer in Foreign Policy, Number 110, Spring 1998.
• "En busca de la legitimidad perdida: PRONASOL, pobreza y política en el gobierno de Salinas", en Gabriel Martínez, (comp.), Pobreza y Política Social en México, Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1997.
• "Mexico: Uneasy, Uncertain, Unpredictable", Current History, February 1997.
• "Democracy, Markets, and the Mexican Crisis", Constructing Democracy and Markets: East Asia and Latin America, International Forum for Democratic Studies and Pacific Council on International Policy, 1996.
• "Twilight of the Perfect Dictatorship: The Decline of One-Party Rule in Mexico", in Jorge Domínguez and Abraham Lowenthal, (eds.), Challenges to Democratic Governance in Latin America, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
• "Treading Lightly and Without a Stick: International Actors and the Promotion of Democracy in Mexico", in Tom Farer (ed.) The Limits of Sovereignty and the Collective Defense of Democracy in Latin America, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.
• "Five Scenarios for Mexico", Journal of Democracy, Vol. 5, No. 3, July 1994.
• "Embellishment, Empowerment, or Euthanasia of the PRI? Neoliberalism and Party Reform in Mexico", in Kevin Middlebrook, Juan Molinar, and María Cook, (eds.), The Politics of Economic Restructuring in Mexico, La Jolla: University of California, San Diego, 1994.
• "Bringing the Poor Back In: Poverty Alleviation and Regime Legitimacy in Mexico", in Wayne Cornelius, Ann Craig, and Jonathan Fox, (eds.), Transforming State-Society Relations in Mexico: The National Solidarity Strategy La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, UCSD 1994.

• "Pronasol y Política: El Combate a la Pobreza como Fórmula de Gobernabilidad", en Félix Vélez y Eduardo Andere (coord.), Políticas Públicas de Combate a la Pobreza", México: Fondo de Cultura Económica-ITAM, 1994.
• "Exporting Conflict: Transboundary Consequences of Mexican Politics", in Abraham Lowenthal and Katrina Burgess, (eds.), The California-Mexico Connection, Stanford University Press, 1993.
• "Neopopulist Solutions to Neoliberal Problems: Mexico's National Solidarity Program", Current Issue Brief, La Jolla: Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies, No. 3, 1991.
• "La Nueva Política Mexicana en Estados Unidos", Estados Unidos: Informe Trimestral, México: Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Vol. I, Núm. 4, October–December 1991.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Denise Dresser - Official website
• Dresser y Volpi - " México: lo que todo ciudadano (no) quisiera saber sobre su patria" Official website
• Brief biography - Brief biography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Denise Dresser

Freddy Beras-Goico
Born	(1940-11-21)November 21, 1940 Santa Cruz del Seibo, El Seibo, Dominican Republic
Died	November 18, 2010(2010-11-18) (aged 69) New York, New York, USA

Freddy Reinaldo Beras-Goico (November 21, 1940 – November 18, 2010), popularly known as "Freddy Beras" or just "Beras-Goico", was a Dominican comedian, TV presenter, writer and media personality for over 30 years. He hosted the defunct TV show "El Gordo de La Semana" and he was a staple of primetime (and late night) TV. He was one of the most recognized personalities in the Dominican Republic.^[1]

Biography[link]

During the 1950s, his family fled the Dominican Republic due to the brutal regime of the Trujillo dictatorship and settled in Colombia, where he spent several years before returning to his homeland. These experiences would shape his comedic style, making him a well-known entertainer for years to come.

Career[link]

Early in his career Beras-Goico's comedic style was mainly based on sketch comedy vignettes in several daytime TV shows, later moving on to having his own personal show, El Gordo De La Semana (lit. The Fat Guy of The Week), which matured into a successful TV variety show. The show's roster of comedians and personalities included: Cuquín Victoria, Milton Peláez, Roberto Salcedo, and others.

Personal life[link]

Beras Goico married twice, first to the singer Luchy Vicioso, and then to his now widow Pilar Mejía. He had several children. He is the cousin of Spanish-language television star Charytín Goico.

In his late years, he converted to Christianity.

Career[link]

Beras Goico returned to the Dominican Republic in the sixties. He started his career working as cameraman. Then in advertising but was always linked to television. Many times, Beras-Goico and the crew would laugh themselves to tears.

He began creating comedic shows for radio and TV, and met many friends that became, along with him, the best comedy team of Dominican television: Felipe Polanco, Cuquin Victoria,^[2] Cecilia Garcia, the slain Milton Pelaez, and many more. During most comedy sketches, Beras-Goico and his actors were rarely able to stifle their laughter. Sometimes, Beras-Goico's laughter would become so contagious, that soon the entire cast and crew would start shaking in hysterical attempts to control their own laughter.

Many times, Beras-Goico and the crew would laugh themselves to tears.

He also created his own weekly show, El Gordo de la Semana and Punto Final, a late night TV show.

Beras Goico was well known for his philanthropic work, especially for providing medical assistance to poor Dominicans. Recently, he won the Casandra Award for best actor, for his role in Victor/Victoria, and hosted the nightly show "Con Freddy y Punto", where he shared host duties with "Boruga" and Pamela Sued and married a son freddy jean carlos beras.

Death[link]

Beras Goico died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City after battling pancreatic cancer, just three days before his 70th birthday. Before his death, Several rumours about his death appeared, his death was confirmed by the wife of his son Giancarlo Beras, Pamela Sued, on November 18, 2010, at 4:30 am and by his son later on his twitter account.

References[link]