elDiario.es is an independent newspaper, committed to human rights and to democratic and republican values: freedom, equality, justice, solidarity, and the sustainable progress of society.

The independence of elDiario.es emanates from its members, who are rights-holders and not only readers, customers, or subscribers. The journalists of elDiario.es are the guarantors of these rights, not merely employees.

The group of journalists who founded elDiario.es and the rest of the current or future shareholders of the publishing company recognize this shared sovereignty and, through this Founding Charter, commit to a series of obligations to guarantee these rights for the members and for the newsroom.

Journalism is a public service, even when provided by private companies, because it guarantees a fundamental right: the right to information, which is as important to a democracy as the right to education or healthcare. elDiario.es’s mission is to serve this right of citizens to receive truthful information.

People who do not have sufficient resources also have the right to information. In keeping with this principle, elDiario.es will provide access at reduced or no cost to students and people who are unemployed or have very low incomes.

elDiario.es’s main editorial focus is Spain, a plurinational and culturally diverse country. The newsroom reflects this diversity and is distributed throughout the territory. elDiario.es aims to have an edition or partner outlet in every autonomous community.

elDiario.es is published in Spanish but will also use the other official languages recognized in the Spanish Constitution.

elDiario.es’s focus also includes international news, with Europe and Latin America as priority areas.

elDiario.es will seek alliances with other media that help improve the information it offers to readers.

Outlets associated under the masthead of elDiario.es commit to respecting the editorial principles and journalistic standards set out in Titles II, V, VI, and VII of this Founding Charter.

The editorial line of elDiario.es and its news priorities are subject to a supreme value: respect for the truth. Lies can never be a tool for journalism.

For the journalists of elDiario.es, honesty is as important as objectivity. This obliges us to respect the facts and to give voice to different versions in each story, but it must not be confused with neutrality. elDiario.es will not be neutral between truth and falsehood. When there are two conflicting versions, elDiario.es will, whenever possible, explain which of the two is telling the truth.

elDiario.es believes political polarization is one of the great problems of our time and commits not to fuel this division of society: to respect people who think differently and to reject their dehumanization. Both in reporting and opinion, insults, slander, or degrading opinions are unacceptable, as are expressions that directly or indirectly encourage hatred, violence, or discrimination. This rejection of polarization does not mean uncritical support for consensus nor disdain for disagreement and political debate, which are essential for social progress.

The reality that elDiario.es reports on is often complex and nuanced. The journalists of elDiario.es will reflect these light and shade in their reporting and avoid oversimplification. The newsroom will shun sensationalism and treat readers as intelligent people, capable of forming their own judgment and opinion.

elDiario.es is not affiliated with any political party. This non-partisanship is part of its commitment to independence, but it does not imply disdain for parties or an anti-political stance. elDiario.es defends the need for politics and parties as the basis of a democratic system.

Parties are essential to democracy, but ideas and values do not emanate only from them; they also come from civil society: NGOs, associations, or social movements, to which elDiario.es will devote coverage.

elDiario.es will be faithful to its editorial principles regardless of which parties adopt or reject them.

elDiario.es does not engage in power struggles or palace intrigues to install or remove governments. It is the citizenry, with their vote, who must make those decisions through democratic channels. elDiario.es’s role is to contribute to public debate with verified and truthful information that helps voters decide freely.

elDiario.es will never make voting recommendations to readers in favor of a particular party, but it will openly call out those parties whose platforms endanger democracy or fundamental rights.

elDiario.es will always prioritize the defense of the public interest. The fundamental mission of journalism is to keep power in all its forms under scrutiny and to denounce abuses, so as to prevent their recurrence. This oversight of power includes especially the executive branch and the various governments, the legislative branch, the judiciary, the crown, European institutions, economic, religious, or corporate powers, and their tools of influence in society. elDiario.es considers the fight against corruption one of its major editorial priorities.

The climate emergency is the greatest challenge facing humanity. It is urgent to report on the problem of polluting emissions, the deterioration of natural environments, species extinction, and initiatives in favor of the environment. elDiario.es will combat climate denialism.

elDiario.es supports feminism, parity, and the sharing of care and domestic responsibilities. It opposes patriarchal dynamics and machismo in all spheres, not only in their most violent and visible manifestations.

In line with this principle, elDiario.es also opposes sexual exploitation.

elDiario.es rejects any kind of discrimination affecting vulnerable groups, especially when it comes from institutional or political spheres. This includes denouncing racism and xenophobia, as well as defending the rights of LGTBI+ people, who continue to be victims of violence and exclusion. elDiario.es will promote the participation of voices representative of this social diversity in its reporting and opinion spaces.

These are democratic achievements that are still under threat. Among others: freedom of expression, the right to die with dignity, freedom of the press, the right to asylum, the right to abortion, the right to sexual identity and education, the rights of assembly and demonstration, the right to work, and the right to decent housing.

elDiario.es is opposed to torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the death penalty.

elDiario.es defends freedom not as the right of the powerful to individualistic abuse but as the right of the weak against domination. There is no freedom to buy organs or freedom for child labor.

elDiario.es is a newspaper opposed to animal abuse, including bullfighting.

elDiario.es will defend public policies that protect society and will advocate for their expansion, so that this investment reaches the most disadvantaged and fosters equal opportunity.

Education, which is a right and a duty for all citizens and the best guarantee of the future. elDiario.es will defend the public system and will scrutinize the budget allocated by the authorities, the conditions of teachers and students, the quality of teaching, and respect for universal and inclusive access.

Universal and free healthcare. Health is a personal good that can only be cared for collectively and requires an efficient, high-quality public system. elDiario.es will report regularly on health-care investment by different administrations, on the state of public health services, and on long-term care.

The public pension system, as an element of intergenerational solidarity. elDiario.es will give prominence to all changes and reforms that affect pensioners and that may undermine their purchasing power or entail a reduction of their rights.

Culture is what distinguishes us as humans, what shapes our identity, the legacy for new generations, and a tool for social transformation. elDiario.es will report with a critical eye on literature, music, film, theatre, dance, art, painting, architecture… as well as on comics, video games, television, or gastronomy. Cultural coverage is essential to guarantee society’s right of access to culture. elDiario.es will attend to its community’s desire to know about relevant artistic works and cultural events, with particular care for diversity and plurality. It will also scrutinize cultural policies of the various administrations.

elDiario.es will approach economic reporting from the perspective of citizens, their interests, and everyday expenses: housing, basic services, food, culture, leisure… The market for groceries is more important than the stock market. elDiario.es will denounce speculation but defend people’s savings.

elDiario.es will report on corporate activity while prioritizing the footprint companies leave in communities and the impact they may have on social and environmental sustainability.

elDiario.es will pay special attention to the world of work and to the activity of trade unions, which it recognizes as playing an important role in improving workers’ labor conditions.

elDiario.es will report on the living conditions of people with fewer economic resources and at greater risk of social exclusion. The increase in inequality is a pressing problem, especially in everything concerning the right to decent housing, the minimum wage, and the deterioration of workers’ labor conditions. elDiario.es will scrutinize public policies and tax systems to defend fiscal progressivity.

elDiario.es will defend a culture of peace, defined by the United Nations as a set of values, attitudes, and behaviors that reject violence and prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes to solve problems through dialogue among people, groups, and nations.

As established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, peace, justice, and freedom are founded on “the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.”

elDiario.es will investigate and denounce arms trafficking.

elDiario.es will disseminate scientific advances and report on their value and consequences for society. Recognition of the scientific method and of its importance for human development also entails an editorial rejection of pseudoscience. elDiario.es will not carry horoscopes nor promote superstition.

Opening mass graves and giving victims of the dictatorship a dignified burial is an unrenounceable priority. Equally so is guaranteeing truth, justice, and reparation, as set out in international law.

elDiario.es will report regularly on Spain’s recent history, on the victims of Francoism, and on groups that defend their memory and republican values.

elDiario.es will place special editorial focus on border management, but also on the other political, socioeconomic, and demographic dimensions of immigration, using international law as a reference. Our society must put an end to the systematic violation of human rights, to violence, and to the dehumanization that have historically accompanied a phenomenon that is fundamental to the evolution of our world.

The rise of a new racist and xenophobic discourse compels us, as journalists, to be alert against hoaxes, against criminalization, and against the political instrumentalization of fear of the other.

elDiario.es is a secular newspaper that reports on religions. Secularism is an organizational principle of the rule of law that takes concrete form in the separation between state and religion and in the impartiality of public authorities toward ideas and beliefs. elDiario.es defends this separation between civil and religious societies and will build its journalistic work on that basis. This does not mean excluding religions from its coverage, but rather that religious values or interests will not be the lens through which reality is viewed and analyzed.

elDiario.es will duly report both on the Catholic Church—currently the majority in Spain—and on other faiths, and it will exercise the same oversight over religious institutions as over other institutions and powers of civil society.

There is no editorial independence without economic independence. The freedom of a media outlet is a luxury only those outlets that do not lose money can afford. Therefore, elDiario.es will apply prudent financial management and seek all the income necessary to guarantee its independence, through two main avenues: member fees and advertising.

Advertisers at elDiario.es purchase only advertising to promote their services and products—not preferential treatment from the newsroom. The various advertising formats—display ads, programmatic advertising, event sponsorships, sponsored content, etc.—will always be properly identified.

No single advertiser may account for more than 10% of elDiario.es’s total revenue. This limitation also applies to advertising originating from public institutions or administrations.

Journalism is not just another business, and therefore elDiario.es is not a company like the others.

The group of founding journalists of elDiario.es—majority shareholders of the publishing company, Diario de Prensa Digital SL—and the rest of the current or future shareholders commit to defending elDiario.es’s independence, quality, and consolidation over short-term profit.

elDiario.es will be consistent in its internal operations and in its relationship with its workers with the same editorial principles it defends publicly.

At least 30% of annual net profits will be reinvested to improve elDiario.es, broaden its coverage, or build reserves to face future crises.

To preserve its independence, elDiario.es will seek to maintain its annual budgets with a surplus of at least 10%. It will also be especially cautious with the mechanisms it resorts to in the event that expenses exceed income.

If elDiario.es finds itself in financial difficulty, the following protocol will be followed. Each step will be taken if the preceding one is not sufficient to solve the situation.

1. Cut all superfluous expenditures that do not entail a deterioration in information quality or in employment at elDiario.es.

2. Reduce the highest salaries.

3. Inform members of the situation elDiario.es is facing and ask for their support.

4. Resort to loans.

5. Launch a capital increase among current shareholders, among employees, and among elDiario.es members.

6. Only if all the previous steps prove insufficient to solve the situation will elDiario.es resort to across-the-board pay cuts or to layoffs/collective redundancy proceedings.

The publishing company of elDiario.es will submit all its accounts annually to an external and independent audit.

elDiario.es defends fair pay for workers and applies this editorial principle internally. As its financial strength increases, it will improve salary conditions, paying special attention to the lowest wages.

Employment contracts will be stable. elDiario.es will promote long-term professional careers for its employees within the newspaper, with new responsibilities according to performance and experience. It will likewise encourage training and reward professional merit.

elDiario.es will ensure a safe work environment in the newsroom and will take the necessary measures to prevent and sanction any possible cases of workplace harassment, sexual harassment, or harassment on the grounds of sex.

Since 2019 elDiario.es has maintained an Equality Plan, negotiated with the newsroom, which it undertakes to update and improve. This plan establishes, among other measures, a salary audit—to prevent and combat the gender pay gap—a gender-aware hiring protocol—to foster parity in new hires and internal promotions—and a protocol for action and prevention regarding sexual harassment.

elDiario.es will strive to achieve work-life balance for its employees. Journalism is a profession with difficult hours, but it should not be incompatible with leisure, parenting, culture, sport, family, or friendship. elDiario.es commits to promoting remote work where possible and to rationalizing working hours, seeking efficiency and avoiding unnecessary presenteeism.

elDiario.es will promote a healthy work environment for its newsroom, including with regard to mental health.

Members are the people who financially support elDiario.es to guarantee its independence. They are not only subscribers or customers. elDiario.es would not have been born without their support and could not survive if this community turned its back. The newsroom of elDiario.es and the publishing company acknowledge this debt and commit to respecting these rights:

All readers of elDiario.es have the right to receive reliable, verified, and truthful information. Additionally, members will also have the right to participate in the approval and future reforms of the Founding Charter, which will set the editorial course of elDiario.es.

elDiario.es will submit to binding votes among its members the appointment of the editor-in-chief (director) and also of the Steering Committee. These votes will be conducted by telematic systems and within time frames sufficient to ensure maximum participation.

The vote will be individual and personal. If a member pays for several subscriptions, they may vote only once. The electoral roll will close with those members up to date with payment one month before each vote is called.

Management will regularly consult members, through surveys, to fine-tune editorial priorities, assess the newsroom’s work, and improve elDiario.es.

Members of elDiario.es will have access to the audited annual financial statements and balance sheet.

The management of elDiario.es will periodically hold meetings with its members where it will answer their questions, criticisms, and complaints.

Members have the right to demand compliance with this Founding Charter of elDiario.es and with the editorial and ethical principles it contains. When a member considers that any article of the Founding Charter has been breached, they will write a letter to the newspaper’s management, which will be obliged to reply within a maximum of 30 days.

Members of elDiario.es will have the right to participate in the various participatory spaces of the newspaper, where they may freely express their opinions, suggestions, or criticisms. They may also publish articles in the section “The Members’ Opinion,” provided they meet the general criteria for Opinion articles at elDiario.es. The rules for member participation in comments and other forums will be as follows:

1. elDiario.es encourages and values criticism from its community as a tool that helps us improve. This right to criticize does not include insults or personal attacks against the authors or protagonists of the articles, nor against other members. Messages that promote hatred, contempt, or discrimination are also not permitted.

2. Comment authors will be identified with their first and last names. elDiario.es does not pre-moderate comments nor is it responsible for them. Each member is solely legally responsible for their public interventions in this participatory space and for any legal consequences.

3. It is not permitted to use comments for advertising purposes, to copy and paste the same message in different articles, or to spread hoaxes. To facilitate debate, we ask our members to keep their comments to the topic of the article in question.

4. elDiario.es may delete without prior notice any comment that violates these rules. It may also cancel the subscription of any member who repeatedly fails to comply.

elDiario.es will not place obstacles in the way of members who wish to cancel; cancellation can be carried out without bureaucratic complications.

Fees may be paid through various systems, with direct debit being preferred as it entails lower commissions for elDiario.es. Payment will be made periodically, depending on the chosen fee.

If a member believes they have been improperly charged a fee, that elDiario.es has breached this Founding Charter, or that it has betrayed their trust, the full amount of that last fee will be refunded.

elDiario.es may update fees annually with inflation, but it will always give members the option to keep the previous price if their economic circumstances do not allow them to pay more.

Any price increase at elDiario.es will always follow this same protocol and will be optional for all members.

Members commit to respecting the rules of this Founding Charter, to protecting the independence of elDiario.es, and to looking after its future.

elDiario.es was founded in 2012 by a group of journalists who aspired to do things differently and to own their own newsroom. These journalists, employees of elDiario.es, are the main shareholders of the publishing company, Diario de Prensa Digital. Together with the other shareholders, they are represented at the General Shareholders’ Meeting.

The General Shareholders’ Meeting of the publishing company will be governed according to the procedures and obligations established by law.

The Board of Directors is the highest managerial body of elDiario.es. Its function is to safeguard the newspaper’s financial independence, approve the budget, and direct corporate management, under the guidelines set by this Founding Charter.

The General Shareholders’ Meeting will appoint the Board of Directors, pursuant to legal procedures and obligations. This board will be made up of between 7 and 15 directors, plus a non-voting secretary.

The General Shareholders’ Meeting will also appoint from among the Board’s members a non-executive chair and a chief executive officer.

The Board of Directors expressly renounces any intervention in the editorial line and in journalistic decisions, which fall to the editor-in-chief (director).

The Steering Committee is a collegiate body composed of between 7 and 15 directors, plus a non-voting secretary.

Ex officio members will be the editor-in-chief of elDiario.es, the chair of the Board of Directors, and the CEO of the publishing company. The rest of the members will be chosen from among elDiario.es journalists, people of recognized prestige, and one journalist from the newsroom elected by direct vote. All Steering Committee members will be obliged to keep the content of their deliberations confidential.

The Steering Committee will be appointed by the General Shareholders’ Meeting for a four-year term, which must be endorsed by majority in a double binding vote: first by elDiario.es employees and then by the members.

The General Shareholders’ Meeting may at any time propose the appointment of new members without waiting for the previous members’ term to end, provided that the total number of Steering Committee directors does not exceed 15. Such appointments must always be submitted to a vote of the newsroom and of the members.

The functions of the Steering Committee are: to oversee the approval and subsequent reforms of this Founding Charter, to ensure its compliance, to resolve any doubts about its interpretation or application, and to pronounce on any issues on which management requests its intervention.

The Steering Committee will meet at least twice a year. The publishing company will provide the Steering Committee with the resources necessary for the proper performance of its functions.

The editor-in-chief is the highest editorial authority of elDiario.es. With the help of their team, they organize the newsroom’s work, set coverage priorities, order the homepage, and make the final decisions on the articles elDiario.es publishes.

This decision-making power will never be arbitrary or absolute; it is subject to the principles and obligations set out in this Founding Charter. Management expressly undertakes to respect the rights of both elDiario.es journalists and its members.

The editor-in-chief assumes the legal responsibilities established by law, which also grants them veto power over any editorial or advertising content of elDiario.es.

In matters of particular significance within their remit, or when facing decisions of great importance for elDiario.es, management will consult, depending on the matter, with the Board of Directors, the Steering Committee, or the Editorial Committee.

The editor-in-chief will regularly consult journalists’ views on elDiario.es’s editorial evolution through three channels: meetings with the leadership team, meetings with all journalists, and periodic meetings with the Editorial Committee.

The editor-in-chief will appoint, from among the journalists of elDiario.es, the leadership team that will help carry out their functions at the head of the newsroom, edit articles, and organize the work of the newspaper’s various sections. This team will be structured in the following hierarchy, from higher to lower authority over the newsroom:

1. Deputy Editors

2. Associate Editors (Subdirectores/as)

3. Section Editors-in-Chief

In addition to these positions, the editor-in-chief may appoint trusted journalists to the leadership team with direct reporting lines but without authority over the rest of the newsroom, who will hold the title of Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief. They may also appoint others as Area Directors, in charge of specific departments of elDiario.es (opinion, podcasts, audience, etc.).

1. The appointment of the editor-in-chief will be made on the proposal of the Board of Directors and must be endorsed by majority in a double vote: by the staff of elDiario.es and by the members. If they do not obtain the support of the staff or the members, the appointment lapses and the Board must propose another person for the position.

2. Appointments to the leadership team must be submitted to a vote among elDiario.es journalists. If more than half of the newsroom’s voting roll rejects an appointment, the candidacy must be evaluated by the Steering Committee. If the Steering Committee also rejects it, the editor-in-chief must propose another person for the position.

3. If the newspaper hires a journalist from outside elDiario.es for a leadership position, the internal vote may be called six months after the appointment, once the newsroom has first-hand knowledge of their work and can assess their suitability.

elDiario.es journalists will elect an Editorial Committee every two years. This body will be made up of three newsroom members with more than five years of professional experience, elected by secret ballot from among all journalists. Members of the leadership team may not be elected to this Committee, though they may vote.

The function of the Editorial Committee is to ensure good journalistic practices within elDiario.es and to mediate in any editorial conflict between the newsroom and management.

The editor-in-chief, together with selected members of the leadership team, will meet regularly with the Editorial Committee to respond to the editorial doubts and concerns of elDiario.es journalists.

Management will provide the Editorial Committee with the necessary means to perform its function, and its members may not be sanctioned or dismissed for their activities as professional representatives.

The Editorial Committee does not deal with labor negotiations, which fall to the Works Council.

elDiario.es will scrupulously respect the right of its staff to elect a Works Council, which will defend the staff’s salary and labor interests. The election and general operating framework of the Works Council will be regulated by the Workers’ Founding Charter.

The management of elDiario.es—through the person designated by the CEO—will meet monthly with this council, with which it will seek maximum collaboration and which it will keep informed of major corporate decisions and the newspaper’s general financial situation.

The Board of Directors has the power to renew the management of elDiario.es and to propose a new person for the position, following the protocol established in Article 48.

In serious cases, if the editor-in-chief has deliberately and flagrantly violated this Founding Charter, the Editorial Committee or the Steering Committee may propose their removal to the Board of Directors. To submit such a proposal, signatures from at least half of elDiario.es journalists or at least half of the Steering Committee will be required.

The Board of Directors must discuss and vote on the removal after hearing from the Editorial Committee, the Steering Committee, and the editor-in-chief.

The Board of Directors, the Steering Committee, and the leadership team of elDiario.es will be gender-balanced: neither men nor women may exceed 60%, with the aim of reaching 50%.

The journalists of elDiario.es expressly commit to complying with this Founding Charter, to defending members’ rights, to safeguarding the collective future of the newspaper, and to carrying out their work with diligence and honesty.

The journalists of elDiario.es have the right to a conscience clause. If elDiario.es were to breach this Founding Charter or change its editorial line, they may request termination of their employment relationship, receiving compensatory severance under the terms regulated by Organic Law 2/1997. The Editorial Committee will mediate between the journalist and the company to seek an internal solution before resorting to legal action.

The journalists of elDiario.es have the right to remove their byline from an article if they disagree with how that text has been edited or headlined by the leadership team.

Journalists have the right and duty to protect the identity of their sources. For stories of special relevance, the leadership team may ask a journalist at elDiario.es to disclose those sources’ identities to assess their reliability, but it may not share them with third parties and will be equally bound to their protection.

The journalists of elDiario.es must refrain from producing stories about people or organizations with whom they have a personal, family, or professional relationship in cases where it could affect the story’s credibility. When there are doubts about a possible conflict of interest, journalists must inform the leadership team, which will decide on each specific case.

The journalists of elDiario.es will not accept gifts or invitations that exceed customary social or courtesy practices from sources, companies, or institutions they deal with in the course of their work. In case of doubt about a specific gift, or one whose value exceeds 60 euros, the journalist will consult management.

elDiario.es will cover the work-related travel expenses of its journalists. In exceptional cases where the newsroom accepts an invitation to cover a news event, this will be stated in the resulting story.

Journalists of elDiario.es may not participate in events with political parties that could compromise their image of independence—leading partisan demonstrations, introducing politicians at public events, signing party manifestos, participating in rallies or party forums, etc.—without the express permission of management.

Readers are not to blame for the newsroom’s problems. The journalists of elDiario.es will not silence or punish a source or protagonist of a story based on the obstacles that person or institution may have put in their way. The pages of elDiario.es must not be used to settle personal scores or to repay favors.

The journalists of elDiario.es can make mistakes in their texts. A medium’s honesty is not measured by its infallibility, but by how it acts when it makes a mistake.

elDiario.es will immediately correct any error it detects on its pages. Minor errors—grammatical, orthographic, or minor details in the story—will be edited without expressly informing the reader.

In cases where a substantive aspect is corrected, elDiario.es will inform readers of that edit with a note at the end of the article.

In cases of more serious errors, elDiario.es will also remove the article from the homepage, from search engine indexing, and from social networks.

elDiario.es will scrupulously comply with the obligations of Organic Law 2/1984, which regulates the right of reply/rectification. When someone affected by a story exercises, in due time and form, their right to publish a rectification, elDiario.es will publish it twice: as a new article in the same section as the original text, and also as an addendum at the end of that same story, which will also be linked from the subhead with the text: “A request for rectification has been received regarding this information from…”.

The publication of these rectification notes—which is a legal obligation for all media—does not presuppose that the original story was wrong. Nor that what the affected party states in that rectification is true. This right allows people affected by a story to give their version even if what they state is not correct, as recognized by the Constitutional Court’s jurisprudence, and we will make this clear in stories for which rectification is requested.

In cases where elDiario.es has made an error in its original story and the affected party who sends the rectification is right, elDiario.es will also modify the body or headline of the original story and will record that change in another note at the foot of the page.

The journalists of elDiario.es will try to participate in the comments on their articles to answer members’ doubts and concerns. They will do so in a respectful and constructive tone that helps improve the debate environment in these forums and helps readers understand the newsroom’s work. The journalists of elDiario.es will respond only to equally polite questions, not to insults or personal attacks.

elDiario.es recommends that its journalists apply on their personal, publicly accessible social media profiles the same criteria this Founding Charter sets for their professional work. Both readers and sources identify messages on social media as part of a journalist’s public communication and, by extension, of the medium for which they work. Therefore, and to avoid compromising their professional image and that of their colleagues, elDiario.es advises its journalists to be as careful with what they publish on these networks as they are when they sign a news or opinion piece.

elDiario.es publishes verified, relevant, and truthful information. The newspaper’s duty is to its members and to the public at large, not to the private interests of the newsroom or the owners of elDiario.es.

From all the day’s news, the newsroom selects and orders the most important and interesting topics for its members, following the editorial principles set in Article 5 of this Founding Charter. It is management’s responsibility to set priorities because not everything fits. On the internet, space is infinite, but the newsroom’s work is not.

elDiario.es reports the news; it does not decide it. A story does not disappear because it does not appear in the newspaper, and the newsroom will not hide from its members important news that it would have preferred had not happened. But media outlets also have the ability to open new public debates or reveal events unknown to society. elDiario.es will strive to offer its readers the most relevant news of the day, without allowing itself to be dragged along by media agendas set by different power groups.

elDiario.es will pick up stories from other media that are of special relevance, but only when their veracity can be substantiated. Whenever this occurs, the source of the story will be cited in our reporting, with a link to that outlet’s original piece, along with the checks carried out by elDiario.es journalists.

elDiario.es does not buy information: it pays journalists, but never sources. It does so to avoid encouraging the manufacture of false information and the trafficking of data obtained illegally.

elDiario.es will always seek the version of events from all the protagonists of a story. If any of them chooses not to respond, this fact will be noted in the report.

elDiario.es will be especially respectful of the intimate sphere and affective-sexual orientation of individuals, which cannot be news unless the protagonist of a story voluntarily discloses those data or they are relevant to the public interest.

elDiario.es does not publish rumors or unverified information and will combat disinformation and the spread of fake news. Debunking lies is also part of the newsroom’s commitment to the truth.

elDiario.es will separate reporting from interpretation and opinion and will clearly identify the different journalistic genres. Readers must be able to identify at a glance what type of piece they are facing and what degree of subjectivity on the part of the journalist they can expect.

1. Reporting: the facts. In these pieces, the journalist will never include personal value judgments. Opinion has no place in them. Reporting includes the genres of news story, news feature, and interview. Except in the case of the interview, it is not specifically labeled.

2. Opinion: the subjective judgment of the facts. In these pieces the author’s point of view is represented and they are always signed and labeled, under the headings “opinion,” “blog,” “op-ed,” “cartoon,” or “review/critique.”

3. Interpretation: analysis of the facts. It is a hybrid between reporting and opinion where, in addition to the facts, journalists may offer subjective judgments that help the reader understand them and put them in context. Interpretation includes the genres of color piece/chronicle, analysis, or profile, and it is always labeled and prominently signed by the author.

The opinion section of elDiario.es seeks to foster critical thinking and plural debate: to give voice to different sensibilities within our editorial values.

Opinion at elDiario.es is not intended to indoctrinate readers but to help them build their own views by presenting different points of view and arguments.

elDiario.es rejects imposing a single ideological view on each topic upon its journalists and therefore does not publish editorials: unsigned opinion pieces on behalf of the entire newspaper. Opinion belongs to people, not to legal entities. It will always be signed with the author’s name.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right that elDiario.es promotes and defends. But not all expressions should be disseminated equally at elDiario.es. There is no place for advocacy of tyranny, discrimination, racism, machismo, LGTBI-phobia, terrorism, or animal abuse.

Insults, slander, or degrading opinions are not accepted at elDiario.es. Nor are expressions that directly or indirectly encourage hatred, violence, or discrimination. Forcefulness in presenting arguments is not incompatible with respect for people, including those who think differently.

Opinion is free, but data are not: there are no alternative facts. The opinion genre is not an excuse to disseminate false, unverified data or claims contrary to scientific evidence. Respect for the truth also governs opinion, just as it does reporting.

Facts in opinion articles that may seem controversial must be supported by sources or links. A lie is not a point of view.

The management of elDiario.es will select various regular columnists to whom it will grant complete freedom, within the rules and editorial principles set by this Founding Charter.

Columnists’ editorial freedom also has limits. Opinion at elDiario.es must comply with the professional and ethical standards of this Founding Charter, just like any other journalistic genre.

With each article it publishes, elDiario.es assumes a responsibility to readers and also a legal responsibility. Therefore, it reserves the right to reject any text by one of its regular contributors in two cases: if it believes that publishing it would breach any of the rules of this Founding Charter or if it could entail legal risk. In Spain, legal liability for any potential lawsuit over a published article lies not only with the author: the newspaper and its editor-in-chief may also be convicted.

The goal of the Opinion section at elDiario.es is to achieve gender parity, understood as the less-represented gender not dropping below 40% of the total number of articles published each week and getting as close as possible to 50%.

elDiario.es is not a partisan outlet, but it does give space in its Opinion section to different parties, unions, and social organizations. Op-eds by active politicians will not be paid and must be clearly identified, with the author’s position and party affiliation alongside their byline.

Conflicts of interest can also affect elDiario.es’s columnists. If there is a professional or personal relationship with the protagonists or those affected by an opinion, the author must disclose it to readers: either in the article itself or in their bio.

The drafting of the first version of this Founding Charter corresponds to the editor-in-chief of elDiario.es, who will submit it for public consultation among the newsroom and among the members.

The General Shareholders’ Meeting will propose the names for a first Steering Committee, a slate that must be endorsed by a vote of the members and of the elDiario.es newsroom. This Steering Committee will draft a second version.

The final text of the Founding Charter must be approved in a triple vote in order to enter into force: by the General Shareholders’ Meeting, by the staff, and by the members of elDiario.es.

The Steering Committee may propose future changes or extensions of the Founding Charter, which must be approved by the General Shareholders’ Meeting, by the staff, and by the members of elDiario.es.