José F. Peláez wears a double-breasted jacket, tie and smile. This is how he came to collect the 5th David Gistau Journalism Prize for his column ‘A progress of closeness’, a text published on ABC and in which its author, in the words of the jury, “captures a social trend from humor, renews the perspective classic of Spanish columnism and uses perplexity and self-parody as tools to connect with its readers.
Organized by Vocento and Unidad Editorial—the publishing companies in which David Gistau wrote during the central years of his career – the award has managed not only to honor his memory, but also celebrates independent, accurate and scathing journalism. In his welcoming words, Julián Quirós, director of ABC, expressed the need for “criterion, one’s own perspective and the angel of the word” that the profession must have and that Peláez brings together in his prose.
Right to disagree
“In this edition of the award,” Julián Quirós stressed, “more important than others is the unity that we defend for the right to freedom of expression and the radical right to disagree.” The director of ABC alluded to a growing campaign “of smear that is exercised by those in power against the press.” “It is advisable not to remain silent and remember the importance of a free press,” he concluded.
“They want us to believe that misinformation is on our side,” is how he spoke Joaquin Manzohead of ‘El Mundo’, who in addition to confirming the hostility from power towards the media, highlighted “the endearing atmosphere” that reigns every year with the reunion of David Gistau’s family, in addition to the friends and journalists who celebrate the memory of “one of the greatest innovators of journalism of the first quarter of the 21st century.”
The family photo—chaired by the directors of both media, along with Romina Caponettowidow of David Gistau and the award-winning José F. Peláez—added one more image to an award that is consolidated as a reference in Spanish journalism with the memory of a “radically honest” reporter, as Ana Karina Verdú, presenter of the event, described him. this Thursday at the Vocento facilities.
«Writers in newspapers»
Surrounded by journalists, writers, editors and columnists—Ignacio Camacho, Pedro Cuartango, Ángel Antonio Herrera, Jorge Bustos and Alberto García Reyes, among many others—Peláez offered a fresh speech, full of honesty and warmth. «Since David, I think everything is David. The rest of us are good or bad compared to him. And this not only seems good to me, but it also seems to me to have irreproachable justice and indisputable intelligence,” Peláez read before a large audience that included the former vice mayor of Madrid Begoña Villacís, the columnists and collaborators of ABC. Alfonso J. Ussía, Edu Galán and María José Solano, as well as the journalists Juan Fernández Miranda, Javier Chicote and Daniel Ramírez Mina.
«Each columnist stands out in some of these aspects. Only David Gistau was outstanding in all of them, the total columnist, as Ignacio Camacho says. To the point that I believe I can affirm that the columnism and chronicling of the last twenty years is summed up in the art of approaching Gistau. A columnist is good the more he is like David, it seems that he has been able to become the standard, the normalizer of this discipline, of this art. Before that it was Umbral and Alcántara, and a little before that Camba or Ruano,” he assured.
Loaded with literary, journalistic and scoundrel allusions—watered down with Campari, tenderness and some melancholy—Peláez showed himself committed to the language and free spirit of the column: «Columnism cannot be understood like politics by other means, we We are just writers, newspaper writers, and sometimes not even that. Of course, as I said before, a columnist must have a worldview, but never an electoral program,” he concluded in a speech, which can be read in full on the ABC website.
Humor and freshness
The award pays tribute to the journalist who died in February 2020 and values the literary quality and informative value of the opinion pieces presented, a genre in which David Gistau stood out during his career and developed with talent in newspapers such as ABC or ‘El Mundo’. . In the specific case of José Peláez, his column ‘A progress of closeness’ attracted attention thanks to the vindication of human relations in the contemporary world.
Gonzalo Suárez, editor-in-chief of ‘El Mundo’ and president of the jury, evoked the memory of Gistau, and described the “ironic and traditional style” of José F. Peláez’s column before the award ceremony, awarded on this occasion by a jury made up of Ignacio Camacho, ABC columnist; Isabel Gutiérrez, head of International at ABC; Rosario Pérez, ABC Culture editor; Jesús García Calero, director of ABC Cultural; Leyre Iglesias, deputy director of Opinion at El Mundo; Charo Lagares, head of Yo Dona and Pablo Gil, chief culture editor of ‘El Mundo’.
young journalists
Agustín Pery, deputy director of ABC and moderator, chaired a talk with young reporters about the threats that threaten journalism, from hoaxes and misinformation to the loss of readers. And right after that, he finished: “This is the future, what do you think?”
The editors of ‘El Mundo’ Javier Attard and Silvia Lorenzo, as well as Carlota Pérez and Bruno Pardo Porto, of ‘ABC’, each contributed their perspective on a discipline subject to greater and more varied challenges. “Talking about journalism in front of your bosses is like talking about love in front of your girlfriend,” said Bruno Pardo to break the ice. Then he got to the point: «We journalists know a lot about the present and little about the future. We have dedicated ourselves to revolutionizing a profession that has already been invented. “We have to go back to the roots,” he concluded. Both Attard and Lorenzo emphasized the new platforms and “the trenching” of information, while Carlota Pérez returned to the base point: “It’s about going to places, talking to people and knowing how to tell it.”
A party… birthday
In addition to running his own advertising and marketing agency (Markniac MKT), José F. Peláez began writing on his blog ‘Magnifico Margarito’ in 2013. Five years later he was already signing columns in ‘El Norte de Castilla’ and three years later I would do it on ABC. In addition to being a contributor to Onda Cero, he is now the David Gistau Prize for Journalism. This Thursday he received congratulations for the award and also for his anniversary, since the ceremony coincided with his birthday.
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