I was thrilled to watch Esther Vera, our director, receive the best European newspaper award in Vienna, and hear her proclaim ARA’s pro-Europe spirit. What a joy that Ignasi Aragay, our deputy director, and Cristina Córdoba, ARA’s art director, had the chance to explain our newspaper’s model to professionals from all over the world.
ARA was born with international vision and ambition. We had an agreement with The NY Times and had shown our project to the main media in London and Washington, having visited many press rooms and listened to many voices. We wanted to explain the world from Catalonia and in our language, while contributing something new to journalism.
When you receive such an important international prize —or when photographer Samuel Aranda is given the Ortega y Gasset award for a photograph of refugees that made our front page—, you realise that your efforts (as well as putting up with some head-scratching and getting the odd cold shoulder) were all worthwhile. Some have tried to pigeonhole ARA as a small, local news outlet, obsessed with our petty little things. In the meantime, we have striven to produce interactive pieces on a par with top world media. We have striven to explain what goes on all over the planet and become the benchmark in education, culture and thinking.
You may mock ARA without browsing it; and it is admittedly far from perfect, always subject to criticism. But —to be perfectly honest— our newspaper is of such a high standard that its front pages, its dossiers and its language innovations are celebrated internationally. It is a success for the Catalan language, which has naturally crossed international borders. It encourages us to keep a high standard. And it is a merit shared by a community of readers and subscribers who are bright, loyal and demanding, who always expect more; and by a talented, enthusiastic editorial team who is committed to quality reporting. Let’s rejoice and celebrate. And, when that’s done, let’s keep at it.
