Politics in Spanish Media

In beginning to watch the news and media in Spain, I started to pay close attention to the present political issues. It was at first difficult for me to understand what was going on, due to the language barrier and different government here. It then became clear that the majority of political media coverage is centered around the issues with the Basque socialist group called the ETA. Through paying attention to newspaper articles and coverage on television, I was able to learn more about politics in Spain, just as we do in the U.S. However, not only are our current political issues a bit different, but also, we have different ways of portraying them to the public.

It became clear to me through also listening to the lectures in graphics that Spain seems to be very sensitive to socialism, and sees it as a very negative way of government. I myself am a supporter of Obama, and am aware that many conservatives/Republicans in the U.S. see him as a socialist. However, in my opinion, things such as universal health care and being given the financial opportunity to attend college, based on the amount of work you put toward it, are all positive things for our country, even if they are seen as "socialist." I think the main issue Spain has with socialism is due to the struggles they have with terrorist groups such as the ETA, and certain parts of their country wanting independence from Spanish rule. It is interesting to see how Spain's media voices these concerns.

Many of the different newspapers here have a very obvious bias, which is more than I can say for the states. While we do have some newspapers that are known to be a little more left wing or right wing than others, Spain pretty much puts their opinion right in your face, beginning with their headlines. This made me realize how frowned-upon media bias is in the U.S., but really, it's nothing more than someone voicing their opinion, as we do everyday.