El Nacional (Caracas)

El Nacional building
Type Daily newspaper
Format Broadsheet
Owner(s) Miguel Henrique Otero
Publisher C.A. Editorial El Nacional
Founded 1943
Headquarters Caracas
 Venezuela
Website www.el-nacional.com

El Nacional is a Venezuelan publishing company under the name C.A. Editorial El Nacional, most widely known for its El Nacional newspaper and website. It, along with Últimas Noticias and El Universal, are the most widely read and circulated daily national newspapers in the country, and it has an average of more than 80,000 papers distributed daily and 170,000 copies on weekends.[1] It has traditionally had a center-left ideology, but has recently moved to the center. The paper supported the candidacy of Hugo Chavez in 1998. Current editor and proprietor Miguel Henrique Otero founded the Movimiento 2D opposition movement, which supports the opposition electoral coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática.

Contributors and owners

El Nacional was founded in August 1943 in Caracas by Miguel Otero Vizcarrondo and is directed by Chief Editorial Officer Miguel Henrique Otero, grandson of the founder, and by Chief Executive Officer Manuel Sucre.

The newspaper's first director was poet Antonio Arráiz (1903–1962). In the newspaper have contributed many of the most recognized Venezuelan writers. Arturo Úslar Pietri, one of the most important intellectuals of the country and its director, wrote for more than fifty years in an opinion column in the newspaper. Former editors include José Ramón Medina and Miguel Otero Silva.

In 1961 an advertising boycott in opposition to the paper's leftist views (its then editor, Miguel Otero Silva, had been a member of the Communist Party of Venezuela) nearly forced the paper into bankruptcy.[2]

Editorial position and management

Historically, the newspaper received criticism by the governments under the AD and COPEI parties for it had tended to support the political beliefs of the moderate left and the middle class.[3] At the end of the 20th century it changed from a family-managed company to a communications corporation, which has influenced its political stance.

There is also a digital edition of El Nacional to which users can subscribe for an annual fee; it was published for the first time in 1996.

Under the leadership of Manuel Sucre, who joined the company in the year 2000 after serving as CEO for the food-conglomerate Mavesa, El Nacional, along with other daily newspapers of the region, El Tiempo of Colombia, El Mercurio of Chile and La Nación of Argentina, created the Daily Group of America (GDA).

In late 2007 editor and proprietor Miguel Henrique Otero founded the Movimiento 2D opposition movement, which supported the opposition electoral coalition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática in the September 2010 parliamentary election.[4]

References

  1. ↑ (Spanish) Producto, De Caracas para Venezuela
  2. ↑ Virtue, John et al (1994), Journalists in the Andes, Florida International University, p119
  3. ↑ EL PERIÓDICO EL NACIONAL DE VENEZUELA Y LAS ELECCIONES EN ESTADOS UNIDOS (Spanish)
  4. ↑ (Spanish) El Nacional, 26 February 2010, Movimiento 2D apoyará a Mesa de la Unidad para comicios del 26-S. Movimiento 2D apoyará a Mesa de la Unidad para comicios del 26-S, archived from the original on 2011-07-21, retrieved 2014-09-27

External links