We, those of before, do not forget Alfonso de Salas

It is often said that Spaniards usually bury very well. I would not say no. In spite of which, probably, there is nothing worse than to make him inhabit forgetfulness and ungratefulness over those who have played an important role in the future of Spain and in the consolidation of democracy. Much more in a country where Cainism continues to be present at every bend in the road. Therefore, although it is not an easy task, for those who accompany him on his long adventure in the first refloating of Group 16, launched by that visionary who was his brother Juan Tomás, and at the foundation of EL MUNDO, we cannot forget the legacy of Alfonso de Salas , who died last Tuesday and yesterday we buried in the midst of the shock of friends and family. Alfonso, for all of us who worked with him, embodied wise discretion. Without appearing on the scene, it was possible that everything went well and that even the premiere was a success when only a few moments before raising the curtain could be presumed the worst.

In the trance of remembering who has been appreciated, it is like playing at half past seven, that capricious game in which there is a high probability that one will pass or fall short. Even so, since journalism is risk, we must assume the set with the uncertainty of the tightrope walker who slides on the rope. Without wanting to fall into the excessive excess of the praise imposed, but also not to do justice with whom, without a doubt, was decisive in the construction of THE WORLD. Since his traumatic departure from Group 16, with a confrontation between brothers involved, Alfonso was proud of the task done, surrounded by extraordinary collaborators in the management field such as Antonio Fernández-Galiano , Juan González , Luis Enríquez or José Manuel Díez Quintanilla , among others, as well as in advertising, with talents such as Balbino Fraga, Alejandro de Vicente or Jesús Zaballa, together with the newspaper management of Pedro J. Ramírez, in charge of an extraordinary squad of race journalists. At the time, he was very aware that nothing of the fact guaranteed what was achieved if he did not keep a watchful eye and lost that spirit that allowed the WORLD to be launched.

He did so by navigating against the tide in a time when the economic crisis and the media themselves, as is happening now, did not invite to launch new ships or advise adventures of that kind. The press seemed touched to the point of death to the point of assuming itself as a true truth that resulted in a suicidal act launching a newspaper.

However, navigating upstream like salmon, THE WORLD not only consolidated, but its unexpected success in record time became an object of study of business schools, as well as an incentive for other projects - with different luck- dare to challenge the elements, once this newspaper had overcome its particular end of the storms that, if any, was the end of Good Hope.

In that task, in which those who Juan Tomás de Salas had thrown over the side of Diario 16 in a suicidal act that what really produced was to sink the prestige that had been carved in late-Francoism with the foundation of Change 16 - Mirror of the Spain of the regime change -, Alfonso de Salas was paramount. He suffered the family tear by preferring loyalty to a project to commune with mill wheels subject to the dictates of power. Therefore, evoking the verses of Pablo Neruda , we the ones before, we may have changed, but not so much to confuse us on the way nor forget who, commanding an exceptional team, marked us.

Much more when, when running behind the scenes, that Herculean work lacks the public recognition it deserves and that they do have, instead, other journalistic actors who jump on stage and are recognized - to a greater or lesser extent - by the readers of the newspaper or by General public opinion.

Ben Bradlee , the legendary director of the 18 Pulitzer Prizes of The Washington Post and debucher of the Watergate scandal , used to say mockingly that a newspaper requires the talent of a large number of people working many hours with the greatest effort so that the director can put the Feet on the table and receive congratulations. That said, he added that, above all that, there was only one thing that had to be owned to be a good director. That thing is a good owner, as was Katharine Graham , which preserves the soul of the newspaper, especially when it is in the spotlight for its commitment to investigative journalism, as is the case of THE WORLD.

The independence of a newspaper inexcusably goes through the solvency of its income statement, although it must be worked out without perverting the essence of the media itself, which is not easy at times when the crisis suffers the income statement of companies and the non-publication of news is more profitable than the dissemination of news. Of course, when you fall into that easy temptation and bite that hook, that medium goes from being a fish to being fish and, soon, to bad smell when you resent the credibility of the medium itself.

Unfortunately, guaranteeing independence is not easy, as it is a task that must be fought every day and against very different enemies. Even so, it is inexcusable for a media outlet that does nothing other than administer a foreign property such as freedom of expression and the right of the citizen to be well informed. It is often asserted - and it is true - that no wind serves the man who does not sail to any port. It was not the case of Alfonso de Salas, as he has shown in other events, such as the foundation of El Economista , because he knew well the fate of his efforts.

Montaigne said that "each virtue only needs one man; however, friendship needs two." And both Alfonso and I, each in our field and in our responsibilities, since we were in the early 80s - first in Group 16 and then in THE WORLD -, we try to do our part. We did it without betraying the truth, to which we owe more than friendship itself, following the Aristotelian maxim. This was done even in the moments of professional discrepancy and disagreement, otherwise inevitable in two passionate lovers of journalism. Rest in peace one of the great Spanish editors who deserves the recognition of this young Spanish democracy, whose arrival and consolidation would not have been possible without the contribution of the media as a great agora of freedom. And of people of the courage of Alfonso de Salas.

Francisco Rosell is director of EL MUNDO.

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