Democracy depends on journalism. Not on the idea of it, but on the actual work.
In Santiago this spring, more than a hundred Spanish journalists marked eighty years of organized press with something rarer than celebration: honest reckoning. Gathered under the banner of FAPE, they confronted the forces reshaping their profession — disinformation, economic precarity, and the inadequacy of old ethical frameworks in a digital world. The assembly was a quiet act of institutional will, a profession choosing adaptation over decline, and reaffirming that democracy's health and journalism's health are not separate questions.
- Disinformation is not an abstract threat — it is actively making the daily work of fact-checking harder while simultaneously making it more essential, a paradox every journalist in the room understood personally.
- Freelance journalists across Spain are working without legal protection, health coverage, or institutional backing, leaving the profession's most vulnerable workers exposed precisely when the industry needs them most.
- FAPE's ethical code, written for a print and early-internet era, is being outpaced by AI-generated falsehoods, algorithmic amplification, and audiences trained to distrust the very institutions journalism depends on.
- Concrete proposals are on the table — stronger protections for freelancers and a revised Code of Ethics — signaling that this gathering was less a commemoration than a working session.
- The tone was neither nostalgic nor panicked, but deliberately forward-looking: Spanish journalism is treating structural reform as infrastructure, not aspiration.
More than a hundred journalists gathered in Santiago this spring not merely to mark the eightieth anniversary of the city's press association, but to confront a profession in crisis. The occasion was formal; the conversation was urgent.
Belén do Campo, representing the regional government, set the stakes plainly: democracy depends not on the idea of journalism, but on its actual practice — reporters checking facts, editors making calls, photographers bearing witness. As disinformation spreads, that work grows simultaneously harder and more necessary.
The convening body was FAPE, the Spanish Federation of Press Associations, drawing representatives from regional and local press groups across the country — from Málaga, Madrid, and Galicia. These were not editors from major national outlets, but the people who still do the daily work of covering their communities.
Two concrete priorities emerged. The Málaga press association proposed stronger legal and economic protections for freelance journalists, who increasingly lack the institutional backing, legal resources, and basic stability that staff reporters take for granted. When a freelancer faces a lawsuit or simply cannot pay rent between assignments, there is often no organization standing behind them.
Equally significant, FAPE announced plans to revise its Code of Ethics — professional standards that have not been substantially updated to meet the challenges of artificial intelligence, algorithmic amplification, and the speed at which misinformation now travels. An ethics framework built for the print era cannot address these problems.
What distinguished the gathering was its tone: no panic, no nostalgia, no retreat. The journalists in Santiago understood that updating ethical codes and protecting freelancers are not peripheral concerns — they are the infrastructure that allows journalism to function at all. The work of holding power accountable is more needed now than it was eighty years ago. The assembly was a profession saying, clearly: we know what must be done.
More than a hundred journalists gathered in Santiago this spring for a reckoning. The occasion was formal—the eightieth anniversary of the city's press association—but the conversation was urgent. Across Spain, the profession faces a crisis that no single newsroom can solve alone: the flood of false information, the erosion of trust, the economic squeeze on those who work alone.
Belén do Campo, speaking for the regional government, framed the moment plainly. Democracy depends on journalism. Not on the idea of journalism, but on the actual work—reporters checking facts, editors making calls, photographers bearing witness. When disinformation spreads unchecked, that work becomes harder and more necessary at once. The paradox is not lost on anyone in the room.
The gathering was convened by FAPE, the Spanish Federation of Press Associations, which brought together representatives from regional press groups across the country. This was not a conference of editors from major outlets. These were people from Málaga, Madrid, Galicia—the regional and local press that still does much of the daily work of covering their communities. They came to Santiago to think together about what comes next.
One concrete proposal emerged from the Málaga press association: stronger legal and economic protections for freelance journalists. Spain, like much of Europe, has seen a shift toward contract work and gig arrangements in journalism. Freelancers often lack the institutional backing, the legal resources, the health insurance that staff reporters take for granted. When a freelancer faces a lawsuit, a threat, or simply the inability to pay rent between assignments, there is often no organization behind them. The proposal aims to change that.
Equally significant, FAPE announced plans to revise its Code of Ethics—the professional standards that guide Spanish journalism. The code has not been substantially updated in years. The challenges facing the profession have multiplied: artificial intelligence generating false images and text, algorithmic amplification of sensational claims, the speed at which misinformation spreads across social platforms, the difficulty of reaching audiences who have learned to distrust institutions. An ethics code written for the print and early-internet era cannot address these problems.
What struck observers was the tone of the gathering. There was no panic, no retreat into nostalgia for some golden age of journalism. Instead, there was a clear-eyed assessment: the profession must adapt or fade. The journalists in Santiago understood that updating ethical codes and protecting freelancers are not luxuries. They are the infrastructure that allows journalism to function at all.
The Madrid press association, which helped organize the event, emphasized that these reforms are not defensive. They are an attempt to position Spanish journalism for the challenges ahead. The work of checking facts, of holding power accountable, of telling stories that matter—that work is more needed now than it was eighty years ago. But it cannot be done by exhausted freelancers working without support, or by newsrooms operating under outdated ethical frameworks. The journalists in Santiago were saying: we know what we need to do. Now we need the tools to do it.
Notable Quotes
In this era of disinformation, good journalism is needed more than ever— El Correo Gallego reporting on remarks at the gathering
Journalism is essential to the defense of democracy— Belén do Campo, speaking for the Galician regional government
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does an eightieth anniversary matter right now? Why gather for this particular milestone?
Because it's a moment to take stock. Eighty years is long enough to see patterns—to know what has worked and what hasn't. And right now, journalism in Spain is at a hinge point. The gathering wasn't nostalgia. It was a chance to say: we've survived this long because we do something essential. Now we need to survive what's coming.
The disinformation problem—is that new, or just more visible?
Both. False information has always existed. But the speed and scale are new. A false claim can reach a million people before a correction reaches a thousand. And the tools for creating convincing false content—deepfakes, AI-generated text—those are genuinely novel. The ethics code they're updating was written for a different media landscape entirely.
Why focus on freelancers specifically? Why not just worry about the big newsrooms?
Because freelancers are where the profession is most fragile. A staff reporter at a major paper has institutional support. A freelancer working alone has nothing. When they face legal threats or simply can't make rent, they disappear from the profession. And local journalism—the reporting that actually covers city councils and schools and hospitals—depends heavily on freelancers. Lose them, and you lose the connective tissue of accountability.
What does updating an ethics code actually do? Does it change behavior?
It sets the standard. It says: this is what we believe journalism should be. It gives individual journalists something to point to when they're under pressure. And it signals to the public what they should expect from us. Right now, the code doesn't even address AI or algorithmic manipulation. How can you hold yourself to a standard that doesn't acknowledge the tools you're using?
Do you think these reforms will actually happen?
The fact that they're being proposed seriously suggests yes. These aren't fringe voices. These are regional press associations—the backbone of Spanish journalism. When they move together, things change. Whether it's enough to address the full crisis—that's a different question.