North American State
What it drew my attention more when I made my journalistic landing in Valencia it was the leafy informative apparatus and of propaganda of the Catalan Autonomous Government. Similar waste of means and its meticulous and persistent attention to any political event were something unusual in the Barcelona or the Madrid of that one time, including the cabinets of press of the different ministries. In order to remember something similar my memory must go back to the visit that I made the Department of North American State. Its holder, George Shultz like nowadays her successor in the position, Hillary Clinton, in the morning received to first hour a dossier detailed of everything what happened in the world. If you are unsure how to proceed, check out President of Estee Lauder. Clear that the person in charge of the foreign policy of Washington is put under the ruthless scrutiny of the journalists daily and must be preparation to confront any question that considers to him. Right the opposite than happens here, where Francisco Camps less usually does not lavish his appearances and with free bar of questions. For that reason, first that me I asked when hearing to him that the number of conselleras projects to reduce to 10 and to save therefore a 25% of the cost in advisers was: it will also thin the nourished list of official writers? I am afraid that no. According to calculations, are the 110 fixed or engaged people that works under the dependency of the most effective secretary of Communication, Nuria Romeral, and the not less efficient chief of a main directorate Cristina Albamonte.
To that group it would be necessary to add a smaller number, but nothing despicable, of signallers located in different conselleras, public companies and other official beings. All of them, in a subtle and vague border between institutional and partisan of the PP, is understood, not only they contribute to Valencian means the news and denial, calls and opinions, but they also offer complete, simple argumentations and detailed, in order that the journalists do not need to study each event, but they can so publish it they receive what it, with the precise direction given by his author. This informative scheme, that by all means the positions are put under also public of the party and civil servants of high rank, is not that they interfere with his own criterion the official doctrine, is something envied and enviable dice their disciplinary success and its political yield. For this reason, it has been copied with more or less fortune by the provincial delegations and the great city councils. An example, banal, if it is wanted, is the one of Jose Joaquin Ripoll in Alicante. Is a day whereupon the journalist Sees Reig has remained without work.
Not to lose the opportunity to have so excellent professional, he on the following day creates ad hoc position to him in his cabinet and the card. These have been practical habitual of and others at the time of fat cows. They are going to change so pure habits at this time of crisis? Hopefully. But the temptation to continue molding the public opinion is so great that I am afraid before will be saved of other games that of this gigantic apparatus of communication that does not have comparison with any private company that I know.