The modern press burst into Spanish society in the 18th century. Since then, it has been a very influential element in the historical development of the country. This is the understanding of Carlos Barrera, professor at the University of Navarra, who presented the book "El periodismo español en su historia" (Spanish journalism in its history), published by Ariel Practicum.

The author specified that this is not an anthology of articles that have made history by defeating ministries or provoking public disorder. On the contrary, "the novelty of this Issue lies in the fact that it gathers a series of historical texts that show the perception that the journalistic activity had of its own actors, the politicians of the time and the society in which they developed".

The book contains press articles, speeches, legislative decrees, essays and even excerpts from some plays. In its first pages, it publishes in its entirety the copy of the first Spanish newspaper and second in Europe, dating from 1758, graduate 'Diario noticioso, curioso-erudito y comercial, público y económico'. "The oldest texts, which retain their original spelling, have a pleasantly rancid flavor, in the good sense of the word," said Barrera.

The professor of History of Spanish Journalism at the University of Navarra regretted that historiography "has not been able to give the press the importance it has had in the last two centuries, perhaps due to a lack of methodological understanding of its nature. Now it is said that we live in the information society, but this status has precedents, it has been developing over the centuries, it has not been born out of nothing".

On the status of the journalistic profession, he said that "although we are still on the razor's edge, the dignity of the journalist has been advancing slowly but inexorably. The book shows how today's press is indebted to the work of those early professionals who, in much more difficult circumstances, blazed the trail. Before, they were not understood, their work was not valued, nor was their official document recognized. Barrera added that the creation of the first journalism schools -such as the one promoted by El discussion in the 1920s and the Pamplona Institute of Journalism since 1958 (today School of Communication of the University of Navarra)- were a boost to the recognition of the profession.

The concept of the newspaper has also changed over the years and has gone from being "the poor man's book to an important element in shaping public opinion". Nevertheless, the newspaper "was understood from its beginnings as a channel for the transmission of ideas to the people".

Carlos Barrera also referred to the relationship between politics and the press. "In Spain, politics has set the pace of journalistic evolution, always conditioned by its legal framework ". Because of the country's particular history, newspapers have suffered "censorship and the limitation of freedoms and have even been used as weapons of war," he said, referring to the Civil War.

At the time of the Transition "the press anticipated the political changes with ideas that did not materialize until democracy". Since then, "the Cainite struggles between different journalistic groups and the interaction between political, economic and informative powers" stand out in the information panorama.

Finally, the professor of the University of Navarra praised the "qualitative leap that the Spanish press has made in the 20th century and that is especially evident in the last fifteen years". The quality of the regional newspapers, the rejection of the sensationalist press that is so successful in Europe and the development of the design are some of the characteristics of a country that, in spite of everything, does not stand out for the high issue of readers".