On Monday 12 November, the fifth edition of the "Proa Communication Observatory". On this occasion, the guest was Luis de Vega, former correspondent for the ABC newspaper He has been a special envoy to many international conflicts, with special emphasis on those on the African continent, and is currently editor of the International section of the same newspaper, where he has been working for almost 20 years.
In this session of the Proa Observatory, the speaker opened the debate with a reflection on the widespread belief that information and communication are not necessary. He pointed to the control of information and the scarcity of media as a common feature of totalitarian regimes and pointed out that, in order to avoid this, the existence of an independent media that strengthens and underpins democracy is necessary.
Continuing this reflection, Luis de Vega highlighted the importance of international information. In his opinion, this is a basic pillar for society, despite the belief that what is closest to home is what most affects the citizen, when in reality everything that happens in the world is what most influences day-to-day life and what will have to be studied in the future.
After these initial ideas, the speaker began an analysis of the situation of the media, in which he highlighted two reasons why they have collapsed. On the one hand, the emergence of the internet has brought about a technological revolution more important than the emergence of television and radio, and on the other hand, the economic crisis has led to a very pronounced decline in media consumption.
De Vega did not want to overlook the poor management of the media, which have not been able to adapt to the new times. He also left room for self-criticism, saying that journalists "have not known how to recycle or adapt to the new forms of communication".
According to the veteran journalist, the bad situation in which the media find themselves has had an immediate consequence in the field of international news with the closure of the majority of correspondents due to the cost involved. He stressed that the figure of the correspondent has been replaced by that of the occasional collaborator, giving priority to the immediacy of the information as opposed to the quality of having a person moving around the city on a daily basis, getting to know the way of life, being in contact with the people and the reality of the country.
Luis de Vega ended his speech with a reflection on the new organisation of the media. In his opinion, he believes that nothing is going to change and that it is necessary to realise that there is no going back and that paper is mortally wounded.