Spanish newspapers

As the Economist looks at tabloids it is worth looking at this table (click to enlarge).

I sometimes say that Spain has no tabloid press. Sometimes I am believed and sometimes not, but I stand by what I say. In a country where El Periódico is regarded as a bit strong for some people, and where journalists are expected to report the facts reasonably honestly, British-style tabloids are quite beyond the pale.

So what's this table about? Marca is one of several Spanish dailies that report exclusively on sport; when I say that Spain has no tabloid press I mean the general press. El País is Spain’s biggest-selling newspaper with around 400,000 copies daily (add about 33% for proportional UK figures). It is boring. It makes no pretence to ‘entertain’. It reports facts and carries heavy op-ed pieces. Counting similar general papers, which range across the political spectrum, about 2,000,000 Spanish people buy such papers every day. That is not counting truly local papers.

To return to the Economist, I am not sure but I suspect that Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport also covers sport exclusively. I can say nothing about the two Japanese titles.

Spanish TV is another matter. There is no shortage of tacky tabloid-style TV programmes.