Spanish- and Catalan-language newspaper, printed in Barcelona
La Vanguardia
(
Catalan:
[l?
β?ŋ??wa?ði?]
;
Spanish:
[la
βaŋ??wa?ðja]
,
lit.
'
The Vanguard
'
) is a Spanish
daily newspaper
, founded in 1881. It is printed in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, also in
Catalan
(Spanish copy is automatically translated into Catalan). It has its headquarters in
Barcelona
[1]
and is
Catalonia
's leading newspaper.
Despite being mostly distributed in Catalonia,
La Vanguardia
has Spain's fourth-highest circulation among general-interest newspapers, trailing only the three main
Madrid
dailies ?
El Pais
,
El Mundo
and
ABC
, all of which are national newspapers with offices and local editions throughout the country.
Its editorial line leans to the centre of politics and is moderate in its opinions, although in
Francoist Spain
it followed Francoist ideology and retains Catholic sensibilities and strong ties to the Spanish nobility through the Godo family.
History and profile
[
edit
]
La Vanguardia
's newspaper history began in Barcelona on 1 February 1881
[2]
[3]
when two businessmen from
Igualada
, Carlos and Bartolome Godo, first published the paper. It was defined as a
Diario politico de avisos y noticias
(Political Newspaper of Announcements and News), intended as a means of communication for a faction of the
Liberal Party
that wanted to gain control over the Barcelona city council.
On 31 December 1887, the paper published its last edition as a party organ, and the next day, 1 January 1888, the first day of the
Universal Exposition of Barcelona
, it presented a new, politically independent format with morning and afternoon editions.
It is one of the oldest papers in Spain, and is the only Catalan newspaper that has survived all the Spanish regime changes, from the
restoration of Alfonso XII
to the 21st century.
[4]
La Vanguardia
is part of the Grupo Godo.
[5]
[6]
Carlos Godo Valls
took over the business in 1931. His death was one year after the death of his wife,
Montserrat Muntanola Trinxet
, succeeding as president his son
Javier Godo Muntanola
in 1987.
From 1939 to 1978 its title included the word
Espanola
to better accommodate the new state ideology.
[7]
The paper was one of two major dailies in
Francoist Spain
together with
ABC
.
[7]
In the late 1970s and 1980s
La Vanguardia
had close connections with
Convergence and Union
alliance.
[8]
In 1987
La Vanguardia
received the second largest amount of state aid.
[9]
La Vanguardia
was published in
berliner format
[10]
[11]
until 2 October 2007 when it began to use
tabloid format
.
[12]
The daily was awarded the World's Best Designed Newspaper for 1994 by the
Society for News Design
(SND).
[13]
Circulation
[
edit
]
The circulation of
La Vanguardia
was 221,451 copies in February 1970 and 218,390 copies in February 1975.
[14]
Five years later the circulation of the paper was 188,555 copies in February 1980.
[14]
In 1993
La Vanguardia
had a circulation of 208,029 copies, making it the fifth best selling newspaper in Spain.
[15]
[16]
In 1994 it was the fourth best selling newspaper in the country with a circulation of 207,112 copies.
[16]
[17]
La Vanguardia
had a circulation of 205,000 copies in 2001.
[18]
Its circulation was 203,000 copies in 2003.
[19]
[20]
Between June 2006 and July 2007 the daily had a circulation of 209,735 copies.
[1]
The 2008 circulation of the paper was 213,413 copies.
[21]
It was 196,824 copies in 2011.
[22]
Language
[
edit
]
The newspaper prints daily in two parallel editions, one in Spanish and, since 3 May 2011, another one in
Catalan
.
[23]
The Spanish name
La Vanguardia
is used for both editions (rather than
L'Avantguarda
, the Catalan translation).
Before the birth of the Catalan edition,
letters to the editor
submitted in Catalan were always left untranslated.
Notable contributors
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Merrill, John C.; Harold A. Fisher (1980).
The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers
. pp. 334?37.
External links
[
edit
]
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