The 20 Most Subsidized Catalan Media by Generalitat in 2024

Did you know that the Generalitat gives away about 60 million euros to the press every year? It does so through three different channels. 

On one hand, we have structural subsidies (8.55 million euros in 2024). These are based on objective criteria such as the number of workers or visits. Then we have project subsidies (5.68 million euros in 2024), which are granted based on subjective criteria that no one knows exactly what they are. Therefore, they end up becoming subsidies handed out arbitrarily by the Generalitat.

Finally, we have institutional advertising (44.5 million euros in 2023), which is the big pie of public money distributed by the Generalitat without any control or objectivity.

Today I bring you the media that received the most subsidies in 2024. That is, this is only a small part of the 60 million distributed annually by the Government. Let's start with the written press, whether newspapers, magazines, or digital. 

No, you won't find E-Notícies on the list. At E-Notícies, we don't receive subsidies because we believe that only the press that doesn't receive subsidies is truly free. We only finance with advertising or with the economic support of our readers, either by becoming a subscriber on Patreon or by making one-time donations.

Beyond these media, the list of written publications that have received subsidies from the Govern includes some curious names. For example, El Crític, a media outlet that claims to want to be bothersome to the system, received more than 62,000 euros from the Generalitat. Or La Directa, a media outlet close to the CUP, which also claims to be anti-system and received more than 27,000 euros. Or, even anecdotally, we have La Llogatera, a bulletin published by the Sindicat de Llogateres and subsidized with more than 5,000 euros by the Generalitat.

Beyond the Written Press

Apart from the written press, media in other formats also receive subsidies. Among them, local TV stations or radios. In this second section, we also find major beneficiaries of subsidies, both for projects and structural.

For example, some of the most notable are RAC1, which received 745,000 euros in 2024. Radio Flaixbac, which received 408,000. Or Cadena SER, which received 200,000 euros in subsidies.

Project Subsidies: Money Handed Out Arbitrarily to Certain Media Outlets

A significant portion of the money that some of the media outlets mentioned above have received has been in the form of "project subsidies." These are granted arbitrarily, without control, and with a subjective criterion that no one really knows what it is.

Some of the main beneficiaries of this subsidy package (which amounts to almost 6 million euros) have received money for really curious projects, which only increases the suspicion that these are covert subsidies granted arbitrarily to friendly media. 

For example, El Nacional received 300,000 euros in 2024 for a "project on Artificial Intelligence." Nació Digital was showered with 220,000 euros for "consolidation of the local media network." La Vanguardia was benefited with 513,000 euros for creating "new Vanguardia content in a safe environment." Or Time Out, which received 140,000 euros for the "creation of the Time Out Barcelona community."