media

Albert Rivera accuses Catalan public TV of being at the service of the pro-independence movement and criticizes questions asked by journalist

The electoral body argues that two editorials don’t’ comply with principles of informative neutrality and diversity

There was “no better business” during the past years than launching a website supporting independence, says Spanish government

It also considers transmission of November 11 protest violation of neutrality

Xavier García Albiol calls programming on Catalan TV is "unacceptable" and “should be changed from top to bottom”

In a manifesto, newspapers and journals demand the release of the "members of the legitimate government of Catalonia"

Directors of Catalan public media say that "the threat of a takeover" attacks “citizens’ rights to have truthful, objective, plural and balanced information”

Media organizations across Catalonia and Spain, as well as further afield, have joined in the attack on Spain's decicision

Catalan public media officials can be dismissed or "temporarily replaced", according to measures proposed

Unionist Ciutadan’s spokesman has stated that the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry has “a bad international strategy” 

The exhibition 'Big Bang Data' commissioned by Barcelona Centre of Contemporary Culture (CCCB) shows the big data explosion of the 21^st century and how it has transformed our lives by displaying a varied collection of pieces from international new media artists. "The exhibition is about changes" stated 'Big Bang Data's commissionaire, José Luís de Vicente "and how these big data has affected our privacy, relationships and even security". After touring in Madrid, Buenos Aires and in many other Latin America capital cities, the exhibit arrives in London absolutely renewed, with 20 fresh projects and 3 especially designed for London, such as an interactive map of the British capital according to the moods reflected on Twitter or a collection of selfies taken in the city. More than 125,000 visitors all over the world have already seen Big Bang Data, which will go to Singapore after London.

The exhibition looks at the relationship between the Catalan painter, symbol of the surrealism movement, and the press. The show aims to highlight that Dalínot only published several articles in newspapers but went much further: he designed advertisements and illustrated some of his own and other colleagues’texts. ‘Dalíand Media’includes 250 pieces, most of them newspapers, magazines and printed advertisements but there are also 30 objects from Dalí’s workshop, 12 paintings and 2 original drawings. This is not the first exhibition based on the surrealist artist to be held in Shanghai. In February 2011, the Gala-Salvador Dalífoundation also organised in China’s financial capital the retrospective ‘Dalí: a genius of the XX century’. ‘Dalíand Media’has already been to other cities such as Moscow, and will be displayed in Shanghai’s Chi K11 Art Space until the 15^th of February.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, is on a visit to the United States to talk with think tanks, investors and media. Mas held a conference at Columbia University on Wednesday evening in which he stressed the democratic principle as the driving force of the independence movement. He praised the American Constitution's "We, the people" to emphasise that "we will vote in September", in elections transformed into a 'de facto' vote on independence. Besides this, Mas also held an interview with 'Bloomberg', saying he hoped that "the biggest" European Union countries will convince Spanish Prime Minister to negotiate a split if Catalans voted for independence. He has also penned an article in the 'Irish Times', stressing that no "decision taken by the Spanish political sphere will break the will of the Catalan people to freely and democratically decide their political future".

On Wednesday evening, spontaneous demonstrations were organised in front of the French Consulate in Barcelona and in other places across Catalonia in solidarity with the victims and in condemnation of the Jihadist slaughter that killed 12 people in the Paris headquarters of the weekly satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’. On Thursday morning, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the main Catalan town halls as well. Furthermore, Catalan authorities have also paid tribute to the victims on the day after the massacre. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas; the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias; and the political groups of the Catalan Parliament all stood in front of their office buildings and observed a minute’s silence to pay homage.

"Without a doubt the independence movement would never have been so successful without Web 2.0 technologies" says Scottish academic Kathryn Crameri. In the last few years support for independence in Catalonia has grown considerably, with around 50% of the Catalan population supporting the movement in 2014, compared to some 15% 10 years ago. In his new book, 'Sobirania.Cat', prominent Catalan journalist Saül Gordillo explains how this can be intrinsically linked to the steady rise of online activity in Catalonia, saying that the growth in the movement would be "unthinkable" without the Internet. Albert Royo, Secretary General of Catalonia's Public Diplomacy Council, explained why pro-independence activists are so reliant on the Internet. "The diplomatic channels of communication are being controlled by the Spanish Government", he said, and alternative channels had to be found.