Antonio Herrero Losada y Europa Press

Resumen

The private Spanish news agency Europa Press was founded in 1957 during the dictatorship of General Franco. Antonio Herrero Losada, a journalist who earlier worked for the official agency Efe, was its director since 1964 to 1989. His biography and that of Europa Press practically overlapped during twenty-five years. This agency became a significant source of news that Efe did not dare to provide in the last years of the Franco¿s regime, especially those referred to strikes in factories and riots in the universities. Its reputation greatly increased thanks to be the first in obtaining important scoops such as the death of Franco in 1975. Its professional spirit and its political independence were not always understood by the political authorities of the time. Manuel Fraga, minister of Information, tried to close it down through several penalties, financial pressures on owners, and threats on agency¿s clients. During the transition to democracy, Europa Press continued to provide remarkable scoops and had a noteworthy influence through the newsletter Resumen Económico that outstanding politicians and businessmen received by subscription. It became one of the most profitable products offered by the agency. Its rival Efe took advantage of the generous public subsidies received and used them to negotiate new agreements with international partners of Europa Press. As a result, this latter was on the verge of disappearing or being absorbed by Efe but eventually survived. The first Socialist government of 1982 also attempted to close it down by drastically reducing the number of subscriptions to Resumen Económico and even involving it in a financial scandal of a big Spanish company. Antonio Herrero¿s leadership and professional spirit was pivotal to understand the prestige gained by Europa Press between 1964 and 1989, based on his rigorous and reliable use of sources, celerity in providing verified news, and audacity to face obstacles, pressures and threats from political, economic and social powers. Despite the fact that Europa Press services were more expensive than those from Efe, it had loyal clients that appreciated their quality and credibility. It was a great school for practitioners of journalism, many of whom would take important positions in influential Spanish media. In sum, it played a crucial role in the achievement and development of press freedom in Spain, especially in political news.