ABC (Madrid)

''ABC'' () is a Spanish national daily newspaper. It is the second largest general-interest newspaper in Spain, number one in Madrid, and the oldest newspaper still operating in Madrid. Along with '' El Mundo'' and ''El País'', it is one of Spain’s three newspapers of record.

History and profile

''ABC'' was first published in Madrid on 1 January 1903 by Torcuato Luca de Tena y Álvarez-Ossorio. The founding publishing house was Prensa Española, which was led by the founder of the paper, Luca de Tena. The paper started as a weekly newspaper, turning daily in June 1905. In 1928 ABC had two editions, one for Madrid and the other for Seville. The latter was named ''ABC de Sevilla''.

On 20 July 1936, shortly after the Spanish Civil War began, ''ABC'' in Madrid was seized by the republican government, which changed the paper's politics to support the Republicans. The same year ''Blanco y Negro'', a magazine, became its supplement. The ''ABC'' printed in Seville was supportive of the Nationalists. In 1939 ''ABC'' in Madrid was given back to its original owners by Francisco Franco. During this period the paper was one of two major dailies in the country together with '' La Vanguardia Española''.

In the 1990s the publisher of ''ABC'' was Editorial Española. The paper later moved from its historic landmark offices in Madrid by ''Paseo de la Castellana'', which is now a shopping mall. The paper is part of Grupo Vocento, which also owns ''El Correo Español'', ''El Diario Vasco'', '' La Verdad'' and ''Las Provincias'', among others.

In the late 1970s and 1980s ''ABC'' had close connections with first Popular Alliance and later Popular Party.

''ABC'' publishes in compact-sized stapled sheets, noticeably smaller than the loose tabloid format favoured by most Spanish dailies, including ''El País'' and '' El Mundo''. Its cover distinctively features a full-size picture.

Editorial stance

''ABC'' is known for generally supporting conservative political views and defending the Spanish monarchy. The paper has also a right-wing stance. Its director since 1983, Luis María Ansón, left the paper in 1997 to found another daily, '' La Razón'', which initially catered to even more conservative readers.

Historically, it was noted in its heavy use of photography, and the front page is typically a large photo taking up to one third of the area. Recently, it has been recognized for its coverage of Spanish culture and arts.

Archives

On 25 September 2009, ''ABC'' made its complete archives, dating back to 1903, available online, giving modern readers a chance to see contemporaneous news about the Spanish Civil War or Francisco Franco's death.

Circulation and readership

In February 1970 ''ABC'' had a circulation of 212,536 copies. It was 178,979 copies in February 1975, 171,382 copies in 1976, 145,162 copies in 1977 and 126,952 copies in 1978. The circulation of the paper was 135,380 copies in February 1980.

The 1993 circulation of ''ABC'' was 334,317 copies, making it the second best selling newspaper in Spain. In 1994 it was again the second best selling newspaper in the country with a circulation of 321,571 copies. In the period of 1995–1996 the paper had a circulation of 321,573 copies, making again it the second best-selling paper in the country.

The circulation of ''ABC'' was 292,000 copies in 2001 and 262,874 copies in 2002. The paper had a circulation of 263,000 copies in 2003, being the fourth best-selling newspaper in the country. Based on the findings of the European Business Readership Survey ''ABC'' had 5,685 readers per issue in 2006. Between June 2006 and July 2007 the daily had a circulation of 230,422 copies. The 2008 circulation of the paper was 228,258 copies. It was 243,154 copies between July 2010 and June 2011.Figures covering July 2010 to June 2011 in Spain
, Oficina de Justificación de la Difusión. Retrieved 28 January 2012.

References

Further reading

* Merrill, John C. and Harold A. Fisher. ''The world's great dailies: profiles of fifty newspapers'' (1980) pp 33–36

External links

ABC.es
– official online version of ''ABC''

The ''ABC''
– Article in English discussing ''ABC''
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{{Authority control

1903 establishments in Spain

Conservatism in Spain
Daily newspapers published in Spain
Grupo Vocento
Mass media in Seville
Newspapers published in Madrid
Publications established in 1903
Spanish-language newspapers
Spanish-language websites