fionamw

I heard an advert on one of the Costa del Sol's many English language radio stations today which kind of shored up a feeling I've been getting...ie that quite a percentage of the stories appearing in the English language press down here seem either regurgitated, not produced by journalists 'in the field' so to speak, or contributions, from grateful charities & clubs, etc. As a former journalist I'd love to get back to work but I just know my Spanish wouldn't be adequate to conduct interviews in the way I was trained in the UK! Anyone any thoughts about the press down here? Or for that matter in other parts of Spain - no doubt there are glaring ghastlies & absolute gems. PS anyone got any jobs going??!!!

Beachcomber

English language press is rubbish. That's why it is free. They certainly wouldn't be able to sell those tatty rags. English language radio is even worse. Boring, unprofessional, condescending, self-congratulatory. I honestly don't know why they bother.

big wheels

All the English language press in Spain is good for is cleaning the windows, or lighting the fire with. A drop of vinegar in a bowl of water. A wipe over with a couple of sheets of their papers and the glass really sparkles.
The sur in English is best for the windows, but doesn't burn well. For the fire use The Euro weekly.

sensationalfrog

well said,especially the radio,the dj's need to be hd and q'd
luckilly i dont listen to them anymore

the costa del sol news is ok tho,but you have to buy that

it allways amazes me the need that the expats feel to rush to the newsagents to get the sur in english on a friday

all shagging prossies i guess

Lenox

What an opportuity! Tell us about this country we've chosen to live! Her culture, her food... travel, politics, news, history... Her society and her art...
No. Most of them write about doggies, 'mine hosts' and nail extensions.
The only newspaper that I would recommend - which uses journalists and produces original material - is The Olive Press.
The worst, of course, is The Euro Weekly which translates out of the Spanish Monday newspapers only (for production reasons) news of no interest. Anything which smacks of politics or scandal will not be used.

Hillybilly

Yes, I second that re The Olive Press.

twyntub

I often feel the need to rush to the newsagents to get the latest copy. Have you seen the price of cat litter in Carrefour these days?!

The difference between the English press and the Spanish press is like watching an episode of the Simpsons for both comedy and irony value. Let me pluck just one recent example - Telmicro.

Spanish headlines "Yesterday, the GC raided a dodgy company that was illegally distributing TV without licence holder approval, not paying its taxes, 60,000 customers, loads of equipment and cash confiscated, blah di blah di blah." Simple, to the point, and as it turns out - accurate!

English press for weeks and weeks and weeks: "No one knows what's going on, everyone's in the dark, but we're assured it's just a technical glitch as we've checked their Web site, keep paying your money, they'll be back, it's OK, silly misunderstanding really, Mrs Miggins has written to the European parliament to complain, nothing to see here."

When the news eventually did drip into to the English papers a month or so after the event, many then claimed to have 'exclusive inside information' which was no more than what was on the press release on the GC Web site weeks before!

scampicat

I third it!

fionamw

...and I fourth it - it was the OP I got within a whisker of working with but my worries about my Spanish led me to wimp out (sorry Jon)....

Beachcomber

Yes, I have only ever seen one hard copy of the Olive Press but having read it on line I would exclude it from my tirade above.