ABC (newspaper)

History and profile

ABC was first published in Madrid on 1 January 1903 by Torcuato Luca de Tena y Álvarez-Ossorio. The founding publishing house was Prensa Española, which was led by the founder of the paper, Luca de Tena. In 1928 ABC had two editions, one for Madrid and the other for Seville. The latter was named ABC de Sevilla.

On 20 July 1936, shortly after the Spanish Civil War began, ABC in Madrid was seized by the republican government, which changed the paper's politics to support the Republicans. The same year Blanco y Negro, a magazine, became its supplement. The ABC printed in Seville was supportive of the Nationalists. In 1939 ABC in Madrid was given back to its original owners by Francisco Franco. During this period the paper was one of two major dailies in the country together with La Vanguardia Española.

ABC publishes in compact-sized stapled sheets, noticeably smaller than the loose tabloid format favoured by most Spanish dailies, including El País and El Mundo. Its cover distinctively features a full-size picture. In the late 1970s and 1980s, ABC had close connections with first Popular Alliance and later Popular Party. In the 1990s, the publisher of ABC was Editorial Española. which also owns El Correo Español, El Diario Vasco, La Verdad and Las Provincias, among others.

Editorial stance

ABC is known for generally supporting conservative political views, and defending the Spanish monarchy. The paper also has a right-wing stance. Its director since 1983, Luis María Ansón, left the paper in 1997; he founded another daily, La Razón, which initially catered to even more conservative readers. Historically, it was noted in its heavy use of photography, and the front page is typically a large photo taking up to one third of the area. It has been recognized for its coverage of Spanish culture and arts.

Archives

On 25 September 2009, ABC made its complete archives, dating back to 1903, available online, giving modern readers a chance to see contemporaneous news about the Spanish Civil War or Francisco Franco's death.

Circulation and readership

In February 1970 ABC had a circulation of 212,536 copies. It was 178,979 copies in February 1975, 171,382 copies in 1976, 145,162 copies in 1977. and 126,952 copies in 1978. The circulation of the paper was 135,380 copies in February 1980.

The 1993 circulation of ABC was 334,317 copies, making it the second-best-selling newspaper in Spain. In the period of 1995–1996 the paper had a circulation of 321,573 copies, making again it the second-best-selling paper in the country.

The circulation of ABC was 292,000 copies in 2001 and 262,874 copies in 2002. Based on the findings of the European Business Readership Survey ABC had 5,685 readers per issue in 2006. Between June 2006 and July 2007 the daily had a circulation of 230,422 copies. It was 243,154 copies between July 2010 and June 2011.

References

References

1. Katrin Voltmer. (2006). "Mass Media and Political Communication in New Democracies". Psychology Press.
2. (2013). "'Pregnancy and labour cause more deaths than oral contraceptives': The debate on the pill in the Spanish press in the 1960s and 1970s". Public Understanding of Science.
3. (2010). "ABC". Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc..
4. Jacob Fox Watkins. (2014). "Not Just 'Franco 's Spain' – The Spanish Political Landscape During Re-Emergence Through the Pact of Madrid". Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese Historical Studies.
5. (2009). "Press Freedom and Pluralism in Europe: Concepts and Conditions". Intellect Books.
6. (2014). "A Companion to Spanish Women's Studies". Boydell & Brewer Ltd.
7. (2014). "All News is Bad News: Newspaper Coverage of Political Parties in Spain". Political Communication.
8. (2013). "Between Decline and a New Online Business Model: The Case of the Spanish Newspaper Industry". Journal of Media Business Studies.
9. (2005). "Spanish media facing new media: a challenge to journalists?". International Journal of Iberian Studies.
10. David Ward. (2004). "A Mapping Study of Media Concentration and Ownership in Ten European Countries". Dutch Media Authority.
11. Bogusława Dobek-Ostrowska. (2010). "Comparative Media Systems: European and Global Perspectives". Central European University Press.
12. (2000). "Democracy and the Media: A Comparative Perspective". Cambridge University Press.
13. Dan Beeton. (22 July 2013). "Spanish Newspaper ABC Runs a 'Completely False' Report on Venezuela, Again". CEPR.
14. (1998). "A Dictionary of Contemporary Spain". Routledge.
15. Juan A. Giner. (1983). "The Press and the Rebirth of Iberian Democracy". Greenwood Press.
16. "The Daily Press". Contenidos.
17. "Facts of Spain". Florida International University.
18. (October 1999). "The management publishing industry in Europe". University of Navarra.
19. (1998). "Media Policy: Convergence, Concentration & Commerce". SAGE Publications.
20. Adam Smith. (15 November 2002). "Europe's Top Papers". campaign.
21. Roland Schroeder. (2004). "Interactive Info Graphics in Europe-- added value to online mass media: a preliminary survey". Journalism Studies.
22. (2004). "World Press Trends". World Association of Newspapers.
23. Craig Carroll. (2010). "Corporate Reputation and the News Media: Agenda-setting Within Business News Coverage in Developed, Emerging, and Frontier Markets". Routledge.
24. Alan Albarran. (2009). "Handbook of Spanish Language Media". Routledge.
25. [http://www.ojd.es/OJD/Portal/diarios_ojd/_4DOSpuiQo1Y_FOivPcLIIA Figures covering July 2010 to June 2011 in Spain] {{webarchive. link. (29 April 2011 , Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión. Retrieved 28 January 2012.)