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Malaga city hall was the setting for journalists to take centre stage on Wednesday 7 May as the mayor, Francisco de la Torre, presented the Medalla de la Ciudad (Medal of the City) to the president of the Asociación de la Prensa de Málaga press association, Elena Blanco. The ceremony celebrated not only the 120 years of history of the organisation, founded in 1905, but also the role played by the local media and its journalists as an indispensable witnesses to the progress of the city in the 21st century.
The organisation was initiated by Luciano González Osorio, creator of the first press office at the city hall and has had the academic encouragement of Juan Antonio García Galindo, Professor of Journalism at the UMA. In the speeches of the municipal spokespersons, as well as the mayor and Elena Blanco, historical names were heard once again, including Andrés García Maldonado, his successor, Rafael Salas, of the honorary members Manuel Castillo Casermeiro and Guillermo Jiménez Smerdou, of María Teresa Campos and of Radio Juventud which told the story of the transition in the city, of Joaquín Marín and Rafael de Loma, of Salvador González Anaya or of names that have gone, such as Manuel Becerra, journalist at SUR, and so many others.
The event was attended by Javier Salas from Spain's central government, the dean of the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Bella Palomo, as well as editor-in-chief of SUR, Manuel Castillo, among other heads of the city's written media, radio and television stations and numerous journalists.
The mayor said that journalists were today "protagonists and honoured" and highlighted that the Constitution protects "freedom of expression and guarantees freedom of the press" since 1978. He said he wished to move towards a society where the work of the media is more valued, after the crisis unleashed by the digital world, in which "truth and opinion" are sought.
He defined journalists as "companions of this advance in freedoms in Spain" and traced the history of journalism in Malaga with La Unión Mercantil and El Imparcial, which arose from the "brilliant 19th century" in the city, when in 1905 the press association was born, created by a handful of journalists who sought "the best for Malaga".
He had words to highlight the journalism done during the transition and to remember Julián Sesmero and Joaquín Marín, Teresa Campos and other key journalists in those years. "May you continue to be the defenders of civic values from a position of freedom," he said, before saying: "Let us honour the journalists of these 120 years".
Blanco recalled the first president of the association, Enrique Pérez Lirio, and called for journalists to put "all their soul" into their work, "The city would not be the same without its media and its journalists," she said, recalling the 120 years of defence of "local journalism" that the group has exercised, always with ethics and "vocation of service to the community".
"Local journalism plays an irreplaceable role in the local fabric", she said, stressing: "Local media are spaces for debate" and "watchdogs of power", in addition to the fact that their proximity gives journalists "great credibility".
"We are a civil society and, as such, we want to deepen democracy. The press association has played a fundamental role in the promotion of freedom of expression", she went on to say, remembering other honorary members including mayor Pedro Aparicio, Suceso Luengo, the first associate journalist, and Narciso Díaz de Escovar, essential to the memory of the city and an illustrious founding member of the organisation in 1905.
She recalled the difficult times during the Civil War and the dictatorship and the participation of journalists in the Cervantes and Miramar Press Ball and the floral games and spoke of "rigorous journalism, always looking after the interests of Malaga and its province".
A loud and long applause followed the presentation of the Medal of the City by the mayor to Elena Blanco, but before that, deputy mayor Elisa Pérez de Siles highlighted the honesty of journalists and pointed out that they are witnesses to the events of the city over the years, to highlight the "artisan vocation" of the profession and the role of the penmen of the transition who shortly afterwards pushed for the arrival of the public university.
The councillor for town planning, Carmen Casero, acted as spokesperson for the Partido Popular (PP) in the speech and recalled the incorporation of women into newspapers, where there are also "glass ceilings".
The socialist PSOE party spokesperson, Daniel Pérez, spoke of hoaxes in the era of "post-truth". He recalled the work of journalists during the dictatorship to then "participate in the construction of free media" and said, "We wanted to highlight your work: that of a strong and ethical press that makes our city better," he said. Pérez cited Manuel Alcántara, who personified "humanist journalism".
The municipal spokesman for Vox, Antonio Alcázar, congratulated the association for its defence of "plural, free, ethical and humane" journalism, while Nicolás Sguiglia, speaking for the Con Málaga group, praised, in line with the mayor and Elena Blanco, local journalism and photojournalism, "that which captures the stories of the neighbourhood".
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