Francoism, monarchy and democracy. The political position of the main daily newspapers (ABC, La Vanguardia Española, Informaciones and YA) during the Spanish transition to democracy (1975-1977)

Abstract

The political role of the Spanish press after the death of Franco (1975) varies according to the company profile and political tradition of the different newspapers. In this paper we analyze the role played by the most important newspapers in terms of readership, influence and age in the process of the transition to democracy. The newspapers studied are La Vanguardia —independent, founded in Barcelona in 1881, ABC —monarchic, founded in Madrid in 1905—, YA —catholic, founded in Madrid in 1935 and Informaciones —independent, founded in Madrid in 1922. The conclusions of the paper allow us to establish the political behaviour of the main Spanish newspapers with its unconditional support of the Crown, different attitudes in relation to the first two post-Franco governments and defined positions towards emerging political parties and the Constitution.