Is 'El País' a Global Newspaper in Spanish? Analysis of the last changes in its format

Abstract

On October 21st, 2007, one of the most important Spanish newspapers launched its new image through which it intends, according to newspaper directors, to face consumers’ new reading habits and to overcome a slow but continuous loss of readers newspapers are going through in the last years. It is then a change driven by current tendencies in the market, in the track some other important Spanish newspapers have followed such as El Periódico or La Vanguardia. This image’s renewal tries to maintain graphic elements which characterize it, and to accomplish a better agility, to be more visual and to consolidate a space in communication media global market. The purpose of this paper is to analyze which graphic and formal have changed in El País, comparing prior editions with the current one.