Readership of newspapers in Spain has traditionally been among the lowest in Europe. This was not because Spaniards were uninterested in news, but because Spanish newspapers have generally been boring and overpriced. Most Spaniards still see radio as a more reliable and entertaining source of information.

Of the Spanish newspapers the best are the centre-left El País and the centre-right El Mundo , both of which have good arts and foreign news coverage, including comprehensive regional "what's on" listings and supplements every weekend.

El País laid the ground rules for modern Spanish news reporting, including double-checking sources and the use of a clear, readable style. With a circulation of around 450,000 copies, it is the best-selling national general newspaper in Spain (though outsold by the sports daily Marca).

Modern technology allowed the Madrid-based nationals to launch regional editions, but local and regional papers thrived none the less, including Catalonia's two leading titles, the long-established La Vanguardia and the newer El Periodico. Nationalist press includes Avui in Catalunya, printed largely in Catalan, and the Basque papers El Correo Español del Pueblo Vasco, Deia and Gara , the last a supporter of ETA.

Radio, too, has undergone a boom. Spanish talk radio stars are the best-paid journalists in the country. Control of the major radio networks has been the object of high-level maneuvring, with such unlikely players as the Spanish telephone company, the Catholic Church and Spain's National Organization for the Blind.

Phones

The internet

Media

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