SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY
AND SUSTAINABILITY
REPORT
2018
48
a written argument, the Board will take this opinion
into consideration, although it is not binding.
Likewise, the appointment of deputy editors and
section editors will be previously communicated to
the Journalist’s Committee by the editor-in-chief.
If two-thirds of the Committee are opposed the
measure, this opinion, though not binding, is taken
into account. Their opposition will be presented in
writing, laying out their arguments.
Likewise, the publisher of El País has an Editorial
Statute, approved by the general meeting of
shareholders of PRISA, and its own Journalists’
Committee, a body representing newsroom professionals.
The statute governs the professional
relationships between the El País newsroom and
its management and the PRISA publishing company,
independently of trade union and labor relations.
The newsroom includes all journalists, regardless
of the university degree they hold, who
write content, and who have been on the staff for
at least six months.
The statute states that El País rejects all pressure
from individuals, political parties, and economic,
religious or ideological groups seeking to make the
news serve their own interests. This independence,
and the non-manipulation of news, safeguards
the rights of readers, whose protection is the ultimate
mission of the publisher.
The Statute of El País states that the Journalists’
Committee acts as mediator between the newsroom
and the publishing company.
The editor-in-chief of El País must convene, at
least once a month, a meeting with the Journalists’
Committee, to discuss initiatives and conflicts that
may have arisen in the newsroom on professional
issues. The Committee, in urgent cases, may
request a special meeting with management.
It is the responsibility of the Journalists’ Committee
to convene and preside over its own assemblies,
delegating one of its members as chair (except
in the case of trade union issues) following
agreement with the management. At the end of its
mandate, the Journalists’ Committee shall organize
the election of the new Committee which is to
replace it. The Committee shall meet at least twice
a year.
Newsroom professionals shall elect the Journalists’
Committee annually from among their members.
The Committee shall be composed of five
members. The editor-in-chief and deputy editors
and related personnel are not eligible. The quorum
for any valid election is 50 % plus one. The publishing
company and management will provide the
Committee and its meetings with all the necessary
facilities for the performance of its mission. Committee
members may not be penalized or dismissed
for their activities as professional representatives.
MEDIA CAPITAL
With regard to Media Capital, in Portugal editorial
independence is protected by law in matters
affecting the work of journalists and the news and
information they produce (though not content of
a different nature). Such guarantees are set out in
the Constitution, as well as in laws and statutes
covering the different sectors (TV, press, radio),
and Editorial Statutes, all overseen by a regulatory
authority for media (ERC). It is forbidden by
law for managers or board members to interfere
in the editorial line or in journalistic content, these
being matters reserved for the news editor, who
is responsible for the guidance and supervision of
journalistic content. Penalties are severe and set
by law. There is no single committee, therefore,
at Media Capital that specifically addresses journalistic
content or news outside the scope of the
news directors or newsroom professionals at TVI/
radio / press.
SANTILLANA
With regard to Santillana, the contents of all books
published by Grupo Santillana worldwide are conditioned
by the curricula set by the governments
or administrations of each country for each school
subject. The contents offered and how they are
taught in schools are key to the learning process
and, therefore, are a vital part of our work. Our
challenge, our duty and our aspiration should be,
therefore, that of interpreting the curricula of the
countries where we operate, responding with quality
teaching and learning projects that provide teachers
with a range of different working methods,
while presenting content across new media platforms
that facilitate the digitization of education.
Wherever Santillana publishes books and learning
materials, there are corporate, global and national