“Apostles of thought”. The ideological purging of the Franco´s Official Register of Journalists: the case of Antonio de Obregón y Chorot

Abstract

The work analyzes the ideological cleansing process carried out by the Official Registry of Journalists (ROP) against Antonio de Obregón y Chorot (1908-1985), a Republican journalist and intellectual who evolved towards Falangist positions. Created by the Press Law of 1938, the ROP was intended to extirpate from the profession those considered enemies of the rebelled Spain. We analyze the paradigmatic case of this journalist from Madrid, who during the war was assigned to Press and Propaganda under the orders of General Millán Astray, was director of the newspaper Hoy of Badajoz and general secretary of the National Department of Cinematography, directed by García Viñolas. Despite his proven loyalty to the Francoist cause, he was not forgiven for his “red” past and was denied registration. Surprisingly, and in what is yet another case of the arbitrary actions of ROP, the Directorate General of the Press reversed its own decision and Antonio de Obregón was able to continue practicing his profession.