Miguel Ángel Iriarte has defended the doctoral thesis 'José Javier Uranga. profile biographical (1925) and analysis of his articulism (1953-2015)', research carried out in the framework of the project 'Public discourse' of the Institute for Culture and Society of the University of Navarra.

Miguel Ángel Iriarte explained that one of the reasons why he has made the thesis about José Javier Uranga was because of his "role core topic in shaping public opinion in Navarre".

"I was interested in columnism, and I thought I would look for a person who could be a channel to understand columnism and its evolution. Uranga was close by, his material was already almost bounded and we could talk to him. Besides, he is a person who financial aid helped us understand a lot about the history of Navarra. He has been, as some books say, the engine or the mirror of Navarre in some specific years, from 1966 to 1982, when Navarre was configured institutionally and sociologically", he pointed out.

For research, Miguel Ángel Iriarte analyzed the 2,535 articles by José Javier Uranga in the section Desd'e el gallo de San Cernin. He found four key elements in them: "The emotion, because many articles come from his experiences; the sense of humor, very ironic; the erudition and the colloquial tone".

"Political journalism is quantitatively the most important. But it is also interesting the costumbrista columnism, which reflects the Pamplona of the 50's and 60's, the vision of the average Navarrese of that time, the streets, the walks.... Then there is a set of articles on society and man, his virtues and defects", he mentioned. 

Fresh, spontaneous, humorous, and ironic style.

Miguel Ángel Iriarte also valued the stylistic features of the columns: "His style was fresh, spontaneous, humorous, ironic and open to readers. His initial articles were more literary and at the end of his degree program he was energetic, perhaps more sober, but just as incisive".

The board of the thesis was directed by Manuel Casado Velarde, Full Professor of the University of Navarra and researcher main project 'Public discourse'. Also present were Javier Marrodán, journalist and professor at the University of Navarra; Iñaki Iriarte López, professor of History of Thought at the University of the Basque Country; Fernando Martínez Vallvey, Dean of the School of Communication at the Pontifical University of Salamanca; and José Francisco Sánchez Sánchez, professor of Journalism at the University of La Coruña, director of Communication of the Corporación Voz de Galicia and columnist in La Voz de Galicia.

Although José Javier Uranga could not attend attend due to convalescence, several of his closest relatives were present. On behalf of Diario de Navarra, Virgilio Arraiza Sagüés, president of committee of Administration; Inés Artajo, director of the newspaper; and Julio Martínez Torres, former director of the newspaper; and also Fernando Galbete, from the Diario de Navarra Foundation.