Antonio Fernández-Galiano: "The further a government is from the media, the better"

The president of the Editorial Unit,

, has participated this Wednesday in the second round table of the

cycle

, organized by

, focused on the future of the media business.

Fernández-Galiano was accompanied by

, CEO of

, and

, president and CEO of

y

, who have radiographed the press, radio and television sectors.

The three leaders have agreed to classify the year as very bad for the industry.

A situation of economic vulnerability that can endanger the independence of the sector.

"The further away a government is from the media of a country, the better," said Fernández-Galiano.

On this subject, the CEO of Atresmedia defended that "in general I do not like aid to the media at all, although it is true that the pandemic may require some type of study."

Meanwhile, Barriocanal has maintained that the only thing it asks for "is that they facilitate the work of dissemination and be seen as an essential public service."

For the president of Unidad Editorial, governments "must help foster an environment where the media can develop freely and comfortably."

And how?

The manager has also answered that: "Acting against unfair competition from the tech giants."

Fernández-Galiano, González and Barriocanal have criticized the practices that

and

carry out.

"More than 80% of digital advertising is taken by them, it is a terrible monopoly that is on the rise", assured the manager of Atresmedia.

For Fernández-Galiano, "Google must believe the role of the media in a democratic society because otherwise it will lead us to extinction." The president of Unidad Editorial has assured that the media will become

, and that these actors "play with a great deal of advantage."

Without neglecting this idea, Barriocanal has also made self-criticism by ensuring that "it has screwed up by putting its own content on its platforms."

Of course, he has also requested "that the distortions of competition cease because these giants are left with a very important part of the income."

All this at a time when the diagram of the sector reveals an advertising crash (30% in the editorial, 25% in radio and television, according to the protagonists) at the same time that audiences increase to numbers never seen before.

"There has been the paradox of having to face a demand for information higher than ever with fewer resources," said the president of Unidad Editorial, who revealed that "Unidad Editorial has grown a lot in its

of EL MUNDO and

".

"In confinement, society has realized the importance of traditional media in the face of certain garbage that circulates through networks," said Giménez Barriocanal.

For his part, González has highlighted both the increase in television consumption - "it increased to more than five hours a day," he said, and "the explosion of subscribers" experienced by the Atresmedia payment platform.

As an epilogue to the meeting, the speakers have placed veracity and quality as guarantees for survival.

While for González "the future rests on being reliable, credible and responding to citizens", for Barriocanal "a medium must be recognizable even if it does not coincide with the editorial line."

"The general will cannot be left in the hands of social networks, platforms and entertainment channels that have objectives other than the media," Fernández-Galiano concluded his speech.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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