Spanish Newspapers

As newspapers worldwide are declining in readership and more publishing companies are turning to the web, it is interesting to note the differences in Spanish and U.S newspapers. As I have gained a slightly firmer grasp on the Spanish language, I have started to read more newspapers. My senora buys the newspaper daily. This is a refreshing change because at home in the United States, my family now relies solely on the TV and internet for the news. In America I feel that people read newspapers for objective news. In Madrid it is just the opposite, the newspapers are very subjective. People know where they stand politically and they choose to read newspapers which reflect this opinion. Largely circulated Spanish newspapers can have cover stories with a very blatant bias. According to “journalistic standards” in the United States, this would never happen. Large U.S newspapers attempt to publish the news with as little bias as possible. A slanted story in a popular U.S newspaper would receive great criticism. In America people go on the internet to find their more subjective version of the news. I feel that this is another difference in Spain, if people want the straight facts they will go online. There is an obvious difference in journalistic style; Spanish newspapers being more subjective, U.S newspapers more objective. However, they are both at risk as internet takes over the news world. I fear that in the U.S Americans have become accustomed to reading “objective” newspapers, where journalists have pre-balanced both sides of the issue at hand. This causes Americans to believe everything they read. I believe Spaniards are more analytical and opinionated than most Americans in how they read the news. This is of course a good thing to be analytical and opinionated, but we can’t forget that are always two sides to an issue. It is important to try to see these different points of views. Do Spaniards fail to do this, when relying only on their biased news papers?