Jan Martínez Ahrens: ‘Rarely has a free press been under greater threat’
The editor-in-chief of EL PAÍS emphasizes the newspaper’s commitment to the United States at the NAHJ annual conference: ‘We see the U.S. not as a market but as a journalistic responsibility’
EL PAÍS Editor-in-Chief Jan Martínez Ahrens took part on Wednesday in the NAHJ Conference & Expo, the largest gathering of Hispanic journalists in the United States, held this year in New Orleans. In the opening address of one of the conference’s flagship sessions, Martínez Ahrens underscored the newspaper’s commitment to democracy and the pursuit of truth at a time when that mission has become “increasingly difficult” amid the current political climate in the United States. To confront “lies, disinformation, intolerance, and the persecution of those who are different,” he announced a major expansion of the newspaper’s U.S. edition, EL PAÍS US, with a stronger newsroom and contributors including Paola Ramos.
“Rarely has a free press been under greater threat,” Martínez Ahrens said in his keynote address. Following his remarks, he joined the panel discussion Our Journalism Under Attack alongside Ginger Thompson (ProPublica), Mari Torres (CNN), and Alfredo Corchado (Puente News), moderated by Ramos. “Journalists working in the United States know this all too well — especially Hispanic journalists. Too often, they are questioned because of the stories they tell and the language they speak. The authoritarian tide targets their communities, cuts funding, intimidates reporters, and blocks access to basic public information.”
“Yet those threats do not make us retreat. They strengthen our resolve,” Martínez Ahrens said. “We see the United States not as a market but as a journalistic responsibility. That is why, two years ago, we launched two U.S. editions — one in Spanish and one in English — which today reach nearly 4.4 million monthly readers. And now we are ready to invest in them even more boldly.“
The expanded U.S. newsroom will work in close coordination with the nearly 100 journalists who make up EL PAÍS’s newsrooms across Latin America, allowing the publication “to deepen its coverage of cross-border stories” and bring a broader global perspective, Martínez Ahrens said. EL PAÍS US will establish a stronger presence in California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Washington, D.C. The operation will be fully digital, with its own social media channels and video serving as a central storytelling format.
The project will also feature collaborations with Ramos, who, Martínez Ahrens said, “embodies the rigorous, independent, and committed journalism with which we identify.” EL PAÍS also plans to forge partnerships with other news organizations.
“Expanding our U.S. edition is a strategic milestone for EL PAÍS. It completes our expansion across the Americas by strengthening our presence in the hemisphere’s most influential country,” Martínez Ahrens said. “Here in the United States, we seek readers who value rigorous, enriching journalism about this country and about the world.”
Martínez Ahrens also recalled that EL PAÍS was founded 50 years ago in Spain with the same commitment to freedom that now guides its work in the United States, “a place where journalism still has an essential mission to fulfill.”
“We are,” he said, “a European newspaper, an American newspaper, and also a U.S. newspaper.”
“That is why we are committed to growing alongside the Hispanic community and working with everyone who has something meaningful to contribute. Because we believe in the language in which tens of millions of people live, think, and dream. Because we believe, just as we did 50 years ago when EL PAÍS was founded, that great journalism helps defend democracy,” he said.
