The Press and Media

THE PRESS AND MEDIA Basque language recovery III Garabide Elkartea In this DVD, we tried to gather together some of the encouragements, problems and achievements that Basque media organisations encountered during their first years, hearing from the main characters first-hand. Author: Garabide Elkartea Jose Arana, 13. 20540 Eskoriatza. Gipuzkoa. Tel: 943250397. www.garabide.org / [email protected]

Coordinator: Alberto Barandiaran Collaborators: Lorea Agirre, Miren Artetxe, Andoni Barreña, Elixabete Garmendia, Iñigo Iñurrategi, Urko Kolomo, Xabier Letona, Jon Sarasua, Aitor Zuberogoitia.

Design and translation: Printer: Gertu ISBN: 978-84-613-6836-5 Copyright deposit: SS-449-2010

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Coordinator: Alberto Barandiaran

KULTURA SAILA DEPARTAMENTO DE CULTURA

Hizkuntza Politikarako Sailburuordetza Viceconsejería de Política Lingüística Euskara Sustatzeko Zuzendaritza Dirección de Promoción del Euskara CONTENTS A briefhistoryofthebasquepress...... Introduction...... Foreword...... Bibliography...... Synthesis: keypoints...... The basque-languagepressandmediatoday...... Basque audiovisualmediaandtheinternet...... The centralityoflanguage. Types oflanguagecommunity Growth ofthepoliticalpress. Azkue andKirikiño. Eskualduna yGoitino. Media creation The bilingualpress. The dreamofadailynewspaper. New spacesforBasque:Argia. The Internet. Television. The Basqueassociations. The successofthelocalmedia. The creationofEgunkaria. The mythofbalancedbilingualism. Basque inthemedia...... 06 67 59 47 21 21 70 11 11 12 15 23 17 25 26 30 28 54 38 36 34 43 31 51 41 FOREWORD parts ofthiscollection.Thepressandmediahaveconstituted transmission within the family. These are the subjects of the corpus, education,media,culturalproductionandlanguage while acknowledgingthatthereareotherstoo,namely: contemporary endeavoursinsupportoftheBasquelanguage, five linesofactionmaybehighlightedinasynthesis of In thisexchangeofexperienceswithothercontinents, fuels ourcapacitytocontinueinnovateinnewdirections. uncertain, butourawarenessofwhathasbeenachieved As wepeertowardsthenewcentury, thefuturestilllooks and bilingualormultilingual. speakers who are fully competent in Basque, both competent within apredominanceofthenativelanguagegiveriseto have discoveredthatschoolmodelsbuiltonabasisofopenness between continuityandopennesstochange.Ineducation,we witness inculturalproduction,achievingadynamicbalance to speak.Thenthereisthevitalityandcomplexitythatwe coherent terminologyinthecorpus,language’s bodyso the fruitsofageneration’s couragetoseekunityanddevelop commitment and perseverance. We have also benefited from of Basqueness.Oneimportantelementhasbeenanemotional have playedamajorroleinthecourseofourresolutedefence language community, we may discern various themes that period. Inthepastfivedecadesofintenseactivitybyour for thekeystooursuccessfuleffortsincontemporary survival in the distant past, we must concentrate on a search Given thatwecannotpenetratethelostsecretsofourlanguage’s and blemishes. beauty, yetitalsorevealssomepreviouslyunnoticedwrinkles myself, my perception ofourlanguage has acquired enhanced already beguntoteachusmoreaboutourselves.Speakingfor provided byotherminoritylanguagesfromaroundtheworldhas The processofreviewingourownstoryinthelightmirror an essential element of Basque language recovery, and there is every sign that they will continue to do so, and that they will make up one of the most important lines of action in language vitalization.

What has the Basque language community done in the area of press and the media? It has kept in tune with the opportunities and needs of each decade, and has dreamt up, organized and implemented those options that were possible in Basque, although I am not so sure that we were always as much in tune as we might have been. Back when regional television was a new frontier, we wasted precious years before we got going in important districts. We have not succeeded in providing more diversity of television and radio programming for the past two decades. But looking back, Alberto Barandiaran’s detailed synthesis portrays above all a community resolutely open to new options.

Some of the people who have taken part in that dream were “kamikazes”, individuals of great determination and total commitment. Besides such individuals, grassroots groups and networks have often set goals, created resources and given rise to organizations of various types reflecting the aspirations of speaker communities, while public authorities have also involved themselves in this area. There has usually been a need for cooperation between all these layers to address the challenges posed.

Barandiaran has written this summary of our story in this field with the world’s language communities in mind. A proper consideration of the emergent trends and tools that will characterize the new generations in this century leads us to conclude that languages that do not advance in the broad area of organized communication will face a bleak future. Those which do have a brighter outlook. Most of all the continents’ native languages stand at a disadvantage in this respect by being decades or centuries behind. But there are also shortcuts to be taken: communication technology is more accessible than other, and there are groups of young people in speaker communities who are conversant with it. On-line networks create undreamt-of possibilities for both the large and the small. In the area of media in native languages, history remains to be written!

And there are important side-effects. The language of the media is the crucible of many other varieties. The language is now put to use not only to comment on our own culture and land but to talk about the wide world and all its peoples, providing a new way of doing so provided it is adapted to such use. But this also means that the language must ‘grow’, in the two senses of broadening both its resources and its horizons.

FOREWORD The subject of the media, then, is a field of importance for native languages on all continents. The word field, of course, has an original agricultural sense in English, Basque and many other languages. The land may take many forms, just as there are many kinds of rain; farming everywhere has been greatly affected by mechanization and chemicals, and there is more and more lack of equilibrium. But there are some more primary laws, as all who plant and sow well know.

Jon Sarasua

Introduction 11 INTRODUCTION

The media are currently the most ef- All that has changed is the manner fective tool that manifests a language’s of communicating. In the last resort, internal vitality and cohesion. They are we will have to accustom ourselves to windows for the publication of the thinking of the Internet as a gigantic cultural production of the members of media instrument, which aspires to be- the language community; a reflection come a kind of universal, free medium of the vitality of the language itself; but a medium all the same. This presents indicators of the kind of relationship a new challenge to the members of with the world this community seeks; every language community, who must and above all they constitute testimo- now find a place for their language in nies to the extent and level of relations this enormous network. between its speakers. Through the media, communities can learn about each Many experts see the media as a great other, and through the media they can source of ideological, cultural and social tell the world about themselves. The influence towards unity and uniformity, importance of media in language re- which have been considered to play an covery processes cannot be overstated, integrating role comparable to that of for they represent an open window mythology in older societies. Newspa- where we see ourselves and others can pers, television and the radio represent see in on us. more than just periodic interpretations of reality, they actually construct real- We should also not underestimate the ity, a unified reality. social impact of the media, their capac- ity to spread specific perspectives of the In many smaller language communities, world and their power to create con- the lack of their own media has entailed cepts and stereotypes. To an extent, the an obstacle to the language’s vitality. world is fitted into the image conveyed They certainly have not benefitted from by the media. This still remains true de- the same reinforcing effect from the spite the growth of the Internet, which media experienced by dominant lan- will pose enormous adaptations on the guage communities. It seems difficult conventional media such as television to find scientific proof of the effects of and print media if they are to survive. use of the media on a language’s status, but it is generally accepted in sociolin- guistic influence than schools. That is, guistics that the media provide speak- while education has often been singled ers with an opportunity to control the out as a determining factor, media are public representation of themselves, to also one of the most important ele- achieve awareness of the ideas, views ments that favour language recovery, and issues of other members of their contributing to the strengthening and own community, and to nurture the no- consolidation of a language, as much as tion of an “us” within the community. schools and possibly more so.

Use of the media is also of fundamental In the case of Basque, this was noted importance for codifying, consolidating long ago. Some even claim that me- and strengthening the language. New dia hold the key to the future, for the communicative domains keep emerging Basque of the twenty-first century will while existing ones get redefined, all of be determined by the media, and the which demands constant updating of kind of Basque that prevails on the the language, hence also of the speaker. radio, on television, in newspapers and Thus the media represent incomparable on the Internet is also that which will areas for language development, for prevail among Basque speakers. better or worse, depending on whether this leads to a given language’s consolidation or attrition. The media are in a sense a language’s masters, and if it is true that culture is a more important Types of key to a modern country’s survival than any army, it is likewise true that no ef- language fective culture can be built on the basis of an ineffective language. And the ef- community fectiveness of a language depends to a large extent on the media. But among language communities many different situations are to be The uniformity of which we speak is of found. What kind of media are needed special importance in languages striv- by the Basque language community? ing towards unification. For example, What about the Kichwa community? the media have played a fundamental How about the Inuit of northern Fin- role for the maintenance of a common land, and the Tamazight of northern Spanish language over and above its Africa? One thing to be borne in mind is regional particularities as spoken in that communities vary widely with re- Spain and the countries of South and spect to how much central importance Central America. Some studies even they attach to their language. Some suggest that the media exert more lin- communities are firm in their self- Introduction 13

awareness as a nation; others feel they priate for local press and media to be have close cultural and linguistic ties complemented by national media. with other communities that coexist within a state. There are also some that But before thinking about the press and view themselves as a minority within media, an important matter to consider the state of which they happen to be is how many people in the commu- subjects. nity can read and write, particularly if literacy rates in the language in ques- One example of the last-mentioned tion are lower than for literacy in the kind, where individuals consider that state language. The same issue may be they form part of another state or encountered even in places where edu- culture, is the Albanian minority living cation in the group’s language as well in Italy. For such a community, local as that in the dominant language is on media may be sufficient given the in- offer, for a variety of reasons. It may be ability of the linguistic group to aspire that the older generation did not have to a higher level of development. In the a chance to learn to read and write in second of the cases enumerated, where their language of everyday commu- a community’s language is spoken in nication. Or maybe when they went more than one state, it may be appro- to school there was no specialized, high-level training in their language. The European observatory of minority Again, the language of the workplace languages known as the Mercator Cen- may not be the same as the language tre, which carries out extensive surveys of the home. Finally, perhaps the mi- of the situation in Europe, stresses the nority language lacks the image and progress that has been made here presence of the dominant language in since the nineteen-seventies. Experi- technical fields or for public use. ences vary widely depending on the place and the language’s status. In More has been done in Europe than Wales, for instance, the greatest ef- elsewhere over the past hundred fort has been made to support the years to provide support and protec- development of local press and media, tion to local languages competing whereas Scotland has limited itself to with dominant languages of the publishing Gaelic-language articles in state, and it is in Europe that use of English-language newspapers. In Ire- the media has been pursued most land there is a worse situation, while energetically in this respect. There are in Brittany there are few nation-wide some spectacular results in certain publications. In Occitania, in the south language communities of the ef- of France, some papers are published forts to promote local media. Great in both languages. Thus for example in headway was made, for instance, in the magazine Lo Païs Gascon, the arti- Catalonia in the nineteen-eighties cles published in French are all about when the local media took the step Occitania, whereas those published in of switching from Spanish to Catalan Gascon may be about any subject. The in the press, radio and television. The same applies in Alsace, in the north success they achieved was so great of France. that they became truly competitive with the press and media in Span- The situations of language communi- ish, the state language, and began to ties in Germany, Italy, Denmark and publish specialized products. There Finland vary, but in almost all of them were also campaigns to include some there exist periodicals in the local Catalan content in the major Span- minority languages. Their circulation, ish media and to spread into fields success and influence are closely not covered by the state newspapers. linked to each community’s strength Such is the progress that was made, and vitality. But overall, Mercator con- that the two biggest newspapers in siders that the press and media play Catalonia launched Catalan-language a central role, and in some instances editions, and in both cases these are it is these that offer members of the more widely sold than their Spanish- language community the main oppor- language counterparts. tunity to stay in touch with each other. Introduction 15

replaced by consciousness of the state, The centrality of and without it language has become one of the few remaining indices of dif- language ferences. Thus language has taken on the major function of indicating group membership. Matters are different in other parts of the world. In most South American Meanwhile, in other parts of the world communities, language does not have the debates over ethnicity are very the same centrality as in European prominent and very contemporary. The cultural traditions. In Europe ethnic issue may thus be more complex in differences have become blurred and such places because in their case such are now much less salient than they communities are not only excluded were in the nineteenth century. Indeed from the mainstream media linguisti- the general drift of the history of Eu- cally: other aspects of culture are also rope in the last century has consisted excluded: their customs, world view, of an ongoing, albeit turbulent, drive folklore, traditional relationships and to overcome ethnicity, emphasizing territorial attachment are all brushed the individual over the group. A sense aside. This points to the urgent need to of ethnicity or community has been create media. It is hoped that this observation will not obscure our message. While it is quite true that in many communities in South America family relations and territorial attachment take precedence over language in defining the community, it is no less true that the domination and assimilation of small communities is hastened when the culture is transmitted through the dominant language. Distinctive characteristics get blotted out; differences disappear. Everything is homogenized in the undifferentiated mass of the dominant language. Hence if there is to be a future it is essential for each community to think about and define what relationship it wishes to have with the media. How do we see ourselves, as a result, in the mirror of the foreign media? It is easy to forget how important this is. For local events to become known This scenario appears to be changing. internationally, it is still necessary for The massive, diverse flow of informa- them to be transmitted by American tion on the Internet has brought to news agencies. Current events in the people’s attention information and US, including its elections, natural dis- points of interest that were previously asters, patriotic celebrations or major silenced, but here again everything has sporting events, find their way into our not favoured small cultures. Benefits living rooms, while large swathes of the may be obtained from the Internet by world, from Siberia to South Africa and non-dominant language communities from Ecuador to Thailand, do not come but the absence of infrastructure is under the public eye at all. Even news still an obstacle. The telecommunica- about important, powerful countries tions network is controlled by a few, such as Brazil, Argentina, India or China for whom many parts of the world are only find their way into our newspa- still outside their main areas of priority. pers, television or radio programmes Thus in many parts of South America it if and when the world’s large-scale, is still easier to have access to the radio most powerful agencies deem it in their than to a good internet server. interest that they should. They decide when, if ever, information about us and One response to globalisation is glo- our country is newsworthy elsewhere. calisation: to globalisation, which is Introduction 17

practically inevitable, we can add “lo- Newspapers, television and calness”, immediacy, nearness. This is the radio represent more than necessary. But to think glocally, a com- just periodic interpretations of munity needs to be in control of itself or at least to consider itself its own reality, they actually construct boss. It needs to become consolidated, reality, a unified reality strengthened, and to believe that it has a future. Members of the language out Europe. This has been called a case community need to believe that they of communication to the masses. The share something in common with its first mass media of the modern type other members. emerged in Europe in the eighteenth century. And that was when public opinion came into existence.

The story of radio is different. It is linked to the telegraph, and was invented for Media creation the same reason as changeable tyres on cars: from the beginning it was The notion that this sharing can and intended to replace it. It is a tool for should be made public, the idea that transmitting messages. That has been, there is a mass that can hold, cultivate and develop such an opinion, dates back to the end of the eighteenth century. But it was only in the twentieth century that people began to talk about the media. Until that time, most communication was oral, with written communication limited to learned and administrative uses. Naturally, oral transmission was a form of communication, a way to convey and spread knowledge, experience, tradition and all kinds of cultural manifestations. One of the first successful attempts to divulge ideas, information or anything else through the written word took place in the fifteenth century, in Germany in the time of Martin Luther, when reformers used leaflets to spread the word about their principles and demands through- in origin, the reason for inventing all When the technical ability to commu- kinds of media of communication. nicate by radio had progressed greatly, the day of television arrived. There were Radio had a lot of advantages over the already TV transmissions in the US by telegraph. It could reach many more the 1940s, but they were mostly used places. For example, it can be used on to send war dispatches and make public the open sea and in scantily populated announcements. The real explosion areas. But it did not meet with immedi- occurred in the fifties, when it was ate acceptation for that very reason: realised that television might become anybody can hear the messages if they the most influential medium of all. The have a receiver. But once it got into peo- following decades merely showed that ple’s homes, first in the United States, the forecasts had fallen short of the then in England and the Netherlands, truth: television came into everybody’s it became clear what an outstanding homes, as the Internet would one day, means of communication it was. Today and in doing so it changed society. it remains one of the chief communicative media. Within ten years or less it So what of the Internet? In a book pub- will probably remain equally important lished by the Massachusetts Institute of but the form of transmission will have Technology in 1991 called Technology changed from the conventional kind of 2001; The Future of Computing and transmission to radio stations on the Communications, written by a large Internet. team of computer experts, not a trace Introduction 19

is found of the terms Internet or World brought about the greatest revolution Wide Web. Cyberspace is not mentioned since the Industrial Revolution of the anywhere either. Ten years later, a re- nineteenth century. And the reason is nowned American university professor this: until that time, communication would write: “When the history of was in the hands of powerful people media in the twentieth century is writ- alone; now it would be in everybody’s ten, the Internet will be considered the hands. most important advance.” Things really started rolling in about 1993, when a This is an important fact to retain in network previously used only for com- our mind, since if the future of small munication between universities was languages lies in the media, it is neces- opened up to the wide world. It trans- sary to think about the effective media formed the way we communicate and to use, such as the Internet. esku asko egunkaria A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 21

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BASQUE PRESS

The first book in Basque was published do with religion. These were church in the sixteenth century. That was publications, and tools for communi- quite early considering that the very cating and spreading the beliefs that first printing press started working a the church defended. century earlier in Germany. Surpris- ingly, we might say that practically all The first text that may be considered the books initially published in Basque journalism dates from 1766. It appeared were used like the media. There is little in the Journal Maritime of Bayonne, poetry. Enigmatically the first book ever and was titled Jaun Dauphin cenaren published in Basque, Bernat Etxepare’s eritassouneco circonstancia berecien Linguae Vasconum Primitiae, is indeed errelacionea, haren Coffesorak arguit- for the most part a book of verse, but arar emana [An account of the special in general poetry is rare. There are few circumstances surrounding the illness historical books, hardly any academic of the late Lord Dauphin, by his Con- works, even fewer about public admin- fessor]. It looks like a translation from istration. No scientific treatises or epic French, but we lack an original. There sagas. Most of the books published in is a single copy of the Basque version Basque in early centuries were written extant at the Koldo Mitxelena Cultural by churchmen in order to spread their Centre in Donostia. Such “accounts” doctrines; nearly everything published were a pre-journalistic genre which before the nineteenth century had to would inform of an event but took since much earlier. The first Basque texts that we can define as true journalism appeared in the mid-nineteenth century in the periodical El Correo del Norte, published in Donostia. The local liberals wanted to publish a periodical entirely in Basque, but the Spanish Ministry withheld permission and they ended up publishing one that was mostly in Spanish. But at least there existed an intention; it was the first deliberate initiative of its kind.

The first all-Basque periodical was in fact published shortly afterwards in Bayonne by the Zuberoan politician, writer and activist Agosti Xaho. He was known in the Bayonne press for his fiery writing. Xaho was a hard-line the form of leisure reading. It was not republican, a lover of the Basque lan- an official administrative document, guage, a fierce critic of the power of but rather somebody’s attempt to tell priests and the monarchy; when Paris about something, an effort to transmit decided to declare a republic, he stood information to a community. The au- at the forefront of the people, pouring thor states as much at the beginning: out ardent declarations and proclama- “Ene desseinua ez da, agueri den beçala, tions. Xaho was one of the first to take Jaun Dauphinaren historioa iscribatcea to the streets behind the banner of (...). Contentatuco naiz explicatceaz, revolution. And realising that the press manera simple eta lano batean, haren could be an effective means of mak- azquen circonstantia bereciac (...)”. [It is ing himself heard, he became the first obviously not my intention to write the Basque journalist. Lord Dauphin’s story. I shall be content to explain in a simple, unassuming Bayonne was a good place for that manner his last, special circumstances.] because it was an important publishing centre. There was a printing press at But in fact, the Basque press was a late number 40, Victor Hugo Street, right in starter, compared to its nearest neigh- the middle of the old town, and there, bours. There were already periodicals at Chez Lespes, Lithographe, Editeur in France and Spain in the seventeenth des Chants Basques, Xaho published century, and accounts had been around his magazine, called Ariel. He also A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 23

published the first Basque newspaper, and I am certain that when the flag of the Uscal-Herrico Gaseta, which un- liberty appears on our hilltops, not one fortunately only lasted for two issues, of you will delay in coming forward to the first of which came out on the 30th save the Basque Country.” of June, 1848. Its introduction is remi- niscent of the way Etxepere set the tone of the first book in Basque, because it also talks about Basque, saying: “Gaseta hounen hasiarekin, ezta txipi izan gure enbrasia, ea zoin herri edo probintzi- Eskualduna and atako Uscaraz, Escaraz, Eusqueraz edo Hescuaraz hautu eguin behar gunian Goitino izkribatzeko”. [Upon founding this ga- zette we were faced by a difficult de- Only two issues of Uscal-Herrico cision about the kind of Basque, from Gaseta ever appeared, but they seem which town or region, we should use to to have started something off: in write in.] 1848 a priest called Etxeberri began publication of Escualdun Laborar- He worried about what variety of ien Adiskidea [Friend of the Basque Basque to write in because he was con- Farmer], and this was followed by cerned to reach the greatest possible several other weekly publications, all number of readers. The choice he made in the northern Basque Country. The was to use his own Basque dialect, ask- most important of these was Eskual- ing whoever wished to read to make the duna, which continued publication necessary effort to understand: ”What until 1944, when it was banned for they don’t understand, let them learn!” he said. In one article after another he having supported the Nazi occupa- wrote of the republic, the elections and tion of the northern Basque Country the issues of his day, and then urged during World War II. Eskualduna Basque language enthusiasts to his was the paper of northern Basque cause: “We must be victorious or die, conservatives, whose heart and soul, Jean Hiriart Urruti, may be considered the godfather of Basque journalism. At the dawn of Basque Between 1891 and 1915 he exercised nationalism the Basque as both writer and editor of the paper. language was seldom His two main achievements were to address the day-to-day concerns of accorded more than token farmers and to cultivate argumenta- value. Other concepts, such as tive journalism, particularly in the race, were seen as more basic areas of politics and religion. The periodical was organised in a way Eskualduna linked religion to language; adapted to the editor’s own interests. it was highly ideological; it contained Initially it focused on the concerns few feature articles and not many of farmers and agricultural workers graphics. However, its linguistic con- but as time went by the profile of its tribution was enormous: it developed readership broadened out. It started a Basque journalistic style in a liter- life as a fortnightly publication and ary koine based on the Navarrese and later became a weekly. It was bilingual, Lapurdi dialects, in a way an early pre- but pro-Basque from the start and cursor of unified Basque. gradually growing more so, with the proportion of Basque on its pages in- Although Eskualduna must be given creasing progressively, thanks in large the place of honour in the history of part to the efforts of the editor, Hiriart Basque journalism, the first reporter to Urruti, and the good command of begin publishing entirely in Basque was Basque possessed by his many priest Jean Pierre Goitino. He was the first correspondents. The policy followed by businessman to take a serious economic interest in Basque journalism while free of a specific ideological agenda. He was born in 1860 in Ainhoa, Lapurdi and died in Los Angeles, California in 1920. Goitino may be called the first modern journalist in Basque. From 1893 to 1897 he published a weekly paper called Cal- iforniako Eskual Herria (The Californian Basque Country), in a format like that considered normal in contemporary journalism, with news about events, A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 25

accidents, practical information about twentieth, for political and economic communications networks, details of reasons, the spotlight moved south. marriages and funerals, court cases, And strangely enough the same thing weather-related news, the comings and happened in literature. goings of rich Americans, news about Basques and reports from the Basque Country, verses and songs, writings by Americans, book reviews and so on. The paper held up a mirror to contemporary Basque society, if not in general then Azkue and certainly for Californian Basques. This was a far cry from other contemporary Kirikiño efforts that pursued religious or political goals. Goitino himself defined the In this, as in so many other things programme of his life’s work as follows: in Basque culture, the path blazer “All other nations have their newspa- was Resurreccion Maria Azkue, the pers, and so many of us being spread first head of the Basque Language out all around the Pacific coast it is Academy (Euskaltzaindia), who as only right that we should all be joined well as a grammarian, lexicographer, together by means of a newspaper. Our interest, at least here, is in equality, and we shall be able to receive news about each other in our beautiful language without leaving our homes.”

Founded with the help of a group of businessmen, by the first anniversary of its publication Goitino announced that the paper had 3,500 subscrib- ers. The paper had correspondents in San Francisco, Tehachapi, Los Angeles, Mexico and Montevideo. He published two pages, and it cost three dollars a year.

In conclusion, it was chiefly priests from the northern Basque Country and emigrants from the northern Basque Country who developed Basque journalism in the nineteenth century. In the Resurreccion Maria Azkue song collector and founder of the first Basque-medium school, found Growth of the some time to do journalism. In 1897 he began to publish the completely political press Basque-language weekly Euskalzale, which lasted for approximately three years. Until its closure in 1899 it At the dawn of Basque nationalism, carried news of all kinds, especially when nationalists identified them- culture-related items, and published selves with Sabino Arana’s Basque many literary texts. For example, Nationalist Party (PNV), the Basque Gabonetako ikuskizuna was a pio- language was seldom accorded more neer work in Basque drama. It was than token value. Other concepts, not smooth riding: the authorities such as race, were seen as more basic frequently placed obstacles in the to a definition of Basqueness, and way of publication, demanding that that was reflected in the printed me- he should print something in Span- dia they created. Basque was only em- ish. Azkue steadfastly refused to do ployed for things related to the rural comply and in the end the paper world or folklore. This was the case in was closed. Straight away he began such periodicals as Bizkaitarra (1894- thinking about starting a new paper 1895) or Baserritarra (1897), and also with another editor, and recruited in other nationalist papers which Evaristo Bustintza, known by the pen came into being existed after Arana’s name Kirikiño, to take on that job. death, such as JEL (1907-1908), Biz- kaitarra (1903-1913), Gipuzkoarra In the first two decades of the twen- (1908-1913) Arabarra (which began tieth century, the world of Basque- in 1912 and only appeared irregu- language journalism grew stead- ily. Some religious orders brought out their own magazines, such as Jesus’en Biotzaren Deya, Jaungoiko- Zale, Irugarrengoen Irakaslea and others; there were also literary journals such as Euskal Erria and Euskal Esnalea, and farming papers such as Baserritarra or Bizkai-Aldundijaren Abeluin Baso-Ingurtija. A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 27

ferences in syntax and lexicon. All this was contrary to what Azkue wanted, and sets the two journalists apart. Azkue perceived the importance of the press for the first steps towards establishing some kind of standard Basque, whereas Kirikiño aligned with the Sabino Arana school of thought about the language. When Bustintza took over as editor of the Euzkel- atala (Basque language section) of Euzkadi, he did so with a single major goal: to move unhurriedly towards the gradual spread of the spelling larly) and Napartarra (1911-1918). system that was being developed. All except Napartarra disappeared That was the PNV approach, which in when the nation-wide pro-PNV Bizkaia endured for a very long time. newspaper, Euzkadi, was brought out. Kirikiño’s Basque was purist but well- Basque was given a place in it, in a written and his journalism was good section called Egunekoa. The editor enough to allow him to make a liv- was Kirikiño (Evaristo Bustintza), who ing from it. One of his achievements had been Azkue’s closest collaborator was the creation of an information from 1899 to 1910. Kirikiño had also network between towns for the paper. published in the journals Euskalzale and Ibaizabal, taught as a professor Two other important periodicals of of Basque in Bilbao, and helped Azkue the period were founded by Estepan as a colleague and informant in his Urkiaga, better known as Lauaxeta. dictionary-making work. In the thirties, the nationalists published a Basque-language periodical Although his passion for Basque was called Euzko, from which originated, nurtured at Azkue’s side, the styles in the Civil War period, the first ever of Basque used in Euskaltzale and newspaper in Basque, Eguna. in Ibaizabal¸ respectively, differed significantly. Ibaizabal, gravitated to The entire Basque-language press was an earlier linguistic standard than not founded by the PNV or the nation- Euskaltzale, and kept the old way of alists; other political parties also had spelling Basque: for example, it used bilingual papers. Or maybe “bilingual” ch rather than the modern spelling is the wrong word: let us just say that tx and employed c where one would they admitted some Basque in them. later write z; there were similar dif- At a time when money and New spaces for opportunities flooded to the Spanish-language press and Basque: Argia when irresistible offers were made to many journalists, the But rather than going into how each press in Basque, or some of party understood and used Basque, the its journalists at least, made important and interesting question is how, as a result of the efforts of Azkue a choice regarding their and some others, and while institu- language that was to have tions such as Eusko Ikaskuntza and the great consequences language academy Euskaltzaindia were coming into being, the Basque press appearance of important all-Basque kept up its forward march. The purpose periodicals, the production of radio was clear: to create new spaces for the programmes, and for the first time Basque language and provide Basque journalists started discussing the need speakers with channels of informa- for a daily newspaper. tion. The twenties and thirties saw the One of the most important papers in the history of this period and of the Basque press is the Donostia-based weekly Argia, founded in 1921 by a number of Basque language enthusiasts with the support of Zeruko Argia, which had started two years earlier. The latter was produced by the Capuchin monks, as a religious monthly magazine, in a small format and entirely in Basque. Argia, on the contrary, was a general-interest weekly magazine, again entirely in Basque. With the onset of war in 1936, both of these fell silent. When an attempt was made in the fifties to revive Zeruko Argia, only a few issues came out owing to its prohibition by the Franco regime. Finally, in 1963 Zeruko Argia was set going again in representation of both of its predecessors. In the new period the Capuchins held owner- A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 29

ship but the publication’s appearance sources of money flocked over to the and the frequency of issues followed new newspapers. It looked as though the Argia’s original design. the bilingual arrangement, with the real information chiefly in Spanish The group who gathered together on and some additional bits and pieces in this project included well-known names Basque, was going to win out over the in Basque culture who carried weight. all-Basque model in the end. Zeruko The magazine became the ideal place Argia fell on bad times until a group of for the publication of chronicles and youngsters took over and turned it into feature articles by the finest of the peri- a cooperative, henceforth calling the od’s journalists. On the 1st of November, magazine Argia. They gave the venture 1970, Argia announced the creation of a new lease on life. This group, with what amounted to its own publishing Joxemi Zumalabe as their leading light, company, the objectives were thus were the first complete generation of stated: “This is for Basques of different Basque language journalists. persuasions: religious or not, Left and Right, progressive and conservative, We will come to that exciting period lat- from the country and the towns, the er, but for now let us return to the early educated and the unschooled, old and days of Argia in the nineteen-twenties young, on this or the other side of the border. In some things, we are all as one, for we are all Basques: Basques who have been oppressed, treated with contempt, hurt, attacked and exiled. We would like to grasp firmly all that unites us. To make the fire that holds us together grow. Zeruko Argia aspires to be open, unattached to a single group, and a wake-up call to those who are still asleep. It is wide open to all who hold Basque points of view and practise Basque action. All of us, writers and readers alike, will together make Zeruko Argia alive, up-to-date and open; a waker up; and Basque.”

When, at the end of the seventies, the group was drained by the creation of the daily newspapers Egin and Deia: journalists, advertisers and other Lauaxeta and thirties: the first upswing of Basque work economically and the scheme was culture; the birth of a Basque language abandoned when Aitzol (and eventually and culture movement. This was when the PNV) opted for El Día. the Basque language academy and Eu- sko Ikaskuntza were founded, the first modern writers wrote, the first Basque- medium (ikastola) schools opened, and the Basque press flourished. That was when some people started looking at The dream of a the possibility of bringing out the first newspaper in Basque. One of them daily newspaper was Jose Maria Agirre or Lizardi, who was a poet, journalist, politician and In those days, a daily newspaper entire- businessman to boot. Argia might have ly in Basque was a pipe-dream. Nothing become that first Basque-only newspa- was ready: Basque spelling had not yet per: Lizardi studied the possibility but it been standardised, or Basque-speaking seems that he did not judge such a ven- journalists trained; a Basque-reading ture viable. He did not think it would generation educated; channels of dis- A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 31

tribution created. The language acad- circulation of five thousand. This paper emy chose a middle path by creating an broke away from the pre-war type. It office to send Basque texts to Spanish was not overtly nationalist; Lafitte be- newspapers and ask for the support of lieved that otherwise readers would be the big papers in this enterprise, whose driven away, and it was top priority to goal was to prepare the way for a daily keep the paper alive. In other respects newspaper and train both reporters and Herria was a loyal heir to Eskualduna. readers. But it all came to nothing. Until 1990 every issue included texts, in French in obedience to the laws of When war broke out in 1936, suddenly France, but it is now all in Basque and the impossible was possible. From the plays an important role in the flow of 1st of January to the 1st of June, 1937, local information. the Basque Nationalist Party, which was the strongest party in Euskadi and held a majority in the first Basque Govern- ment, published a newspaper, called Eguna. Three young journalists ran the company, which was supported by The bilingual many contributors. The war situation was tough, Franco’s side was attacking press everywhere and invading, and most of the paper’s content was political and As the old dictator Francisco Franco war-related. In the first issue the news- passed on, and democracy was at last paper expressed joy at the fulfilment feeling its way forward, the Basque of a dream, saying: “We are overjoyed, press was also looking ahead to the verily weeping for joy. We cannot be- future. Important developments were lieve it. That which was the wild, impos- taking place. sible dream of Basque enthusiasts and Basque speakers everywhere is sud- It was an extraordinary time. The Basque denly a reality.” But the war was lost, Country was filled with immense politi- and most of the journalists were forced cal, social and cultural ferment; all the into exile. movements had great symbolic significance. Censorship had begun to loosen From then until the eighties, practically its grip. The government declared only Zeruko Argia kept going, along freedom of the press. Big initiatives to with Herria, which came out in the create new media sprang up all over northern Basque Country, the succes- the place. Most were linked to Basque sor to Eskualduna from 1944 onwards. nationalism. Many believed in the need Piarres Lafitte was its editor from 1944 to opt for a bilingual press, for it was to 1967. In its best period it reached a necessary to achieve optimal effective- ness by reaching the greatest possible The upshot was that a clear line was number of people, even if in practice drawn by those who still believed that this meant that, to maximise circula- the Basque language must have its tion, they would have to use Spanish. very own place in the media, who felt Thus even for this cause, Spanish had to that the future of the Basque language be used. The new publications denomi- was tied up with the media, and who nated themselves Basque magazines believed that the media would play an or Basque media despite the fact that important part in Basque language nor- most of their content was in Spanish. malisation. Basque press, they said, is press in Basque. Thus when the Basque That development led to further brain- press was at its weakest, at a time when storming about what kind of press was money and opportunities flooded to needed: the question of the nature of the Spanish-language press and when the Basque press was dragged onto irresistible offers were made to many centre stage. The import of the ques- journalists, the press in Basque, or some tion was not merely demagogical: of its journalists at least, made a choice behind the emerging media stood big regarding their language that was to business firms and vested interests, have great consequences. including the political parties. Offering terms of employment difficult to turn That was in 1976, the year that was down, they tempted many writers and declared by Zeruko Argia to be Basque journalists over to the bilingual media Journalism Year. The fortnightly sector, resulting in a brain magazine Anaitasuna and the maga- drain for the Basque lan- zine Goiz-Argi likewise ratified their guage press. At that point commitment to build a Basque press. many important actors Zeruko Argia itself implemented a were forced to decide fairly radical facelift: it started printing which side they were on. in colour, began to address topics of current interest (starting with a debate about the highly controversial subject of a nuclear power station being built at Lemoiz, on the Basque coast), and generally paid a lot of attention to the big strategic or ideological issues of the day. This was a critical move because it amounted to a decision to engage in political journalism while demonstrat- ing resolution to place journalism at the service of the wishes and aspirations of the common people. Consider A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 33

what was written in its very first edito- To provide the people with light so that rial in 1976: “The time has come to give they can choose the right way! new strength to Basque journalism. But journalism can only be made stronger And also: “We must put Basque in the by the journalism that is done. It is time media. Unless and until we put it in for it to start dealing with broader sub- the media and administrative offices jects. This does not mean the traditional everywhere, many people are still going ones will be ignored, but it is time to to ask what Basque is necessary for. take a good look at the hot topics in As long as Spanish is used in all those society today and throw some light on places, nobody will feel a need for them. If our people wish to maintain Basque, only a need for Spanish. And their identity, they will need to tread this will not be resolved with a weekly certain paths, and it is the job of the TV programme or an occasional page Basque journalist to give news of those in the newspaper. We must create real who are doing that. Our country is sure Basque journalism. We need a journal- to reach numerous crossroads: it is the ism that tells of our views, problems job of the journalist to provide illumi- at work, acts and dreams as Basque nation to help choose the right way.” speakers. A journalism that looks out on the world through a Basque window. A journalism that will bring news of the world to the people of our country.”

And that is the second principle: Basque journalism is to be an instrument for providing guidance to the people. And that guidance will be provided in Basque.

Thus at a time when many publications and periodicals were coming out that all seemed to be calling themselves “Basque”, the Basque papers decided to draw a line. “We cannot tolerate a single Spanish-language periodical, no matter how ‘Basque’ it claims to be, if it serves to weaken and impede the growth of Basque journalism,” said one editorial of the period, and the following was penned in the same period, in 1976: “Spanish-language newspapers and weeklies that present a Basque Basque-language press is capable of perspective are necessary. But not at making Basque speakers of Spanish- the expense of the Basque language. speaking readers; but what is for sure If what we want is to strengthen and is that the Spanish-language press is spread the use of Basque in the Basque capable of making Spanish-speakers media, then it is the media that are out of Basque-speaking readers. in Basque that we must strengthen and spread.”

It was not long before the risk was perceived by many: everything was going against the Basque-language The myth of media. The Basque-nationalist Spanish-language press was funnel- balanced ling readers away from the Basque press; it was also funnelling off its best writers. The money that the bilingualism Basque-language press lacked was to be found in the Spanish-language The debates of that period are very im- press, and what little the Basque portant and merit careful considera- press had was being attracted over tion because the years that followed by advertising and resources. Every- merely served to prove that the myth thing was conspiring to leave Basque of balanced bilingualism is a false- with only the token space of minor hood. The dominant language always news items and folklore-related or wins out, or at the very least always language-related articles. The value tries to do so. That is why it is domi- of the language was being treated as nant. It follows that inevitably the op- purely symbolic, while the important pressed language needs to seek spaces things like politics, economics or of dominance. This is not because of a sports were all in Spanish. wish to oppress the other language or its speakers, but in order to be able to The worst fears were being fulfilled, and one thing became self-evident: escape from its own oppression. unless Basque-speakers constructed their own Basque-speaking universe, In short, the whole debate of the all that could be expected was to get period under consideration showed sucked from the bilingual projects the following: into the Spanish-speaking universe. Or as someone at the time put it: • Basque media are media that are in It remains to be seen whether the Basque. A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 35

• Occasional scraps of Basque [in northern Basque paper Herria faced a mainly Spanish publications] are bleak future too. Said its chief editor, merely a makeshift. What the Emile Larre: “We need new blood. We Basque language community needs absolutely need new blood, or else we is a self-standing and self-referenc- are finished. I am 61 years old now. But ing Basque-language framework all I don’t see any younger people ready to its own. take over from me, I don’t see anyone coming up. The Basque Country will • The way Basque is incorporated into have to start increasing its awareness the bilingual press is a clear indica- of this.” tor of non-normality, both in terms of its quantity and its content. Per- Aizu, Elhuyar, Anaitasuna, Argia, haps the latter is the most worrying Euskera, Goiz-Argi, Herria, Ikas- aspect of all: since almost all the in- tola, Ipurbeltz, Jakin, Jaunaren Deia, formation given in Basque concerns Karmel, Kili-Kili, Oh Euzkadi, Olerti, Basque issues (in politics, linguistics Saski-Naski, Susa and Zer. Those were or culture), it conveys the notion of the magazines and journals published a Basque language ghetto. Basque in Basque at the beginning of the is virtually always excluded, in the eighties. But of these only Argia in bilingual press, whenever it comes to subjects of major importance. The main news of the day is always told in Spanish or French.

• The amount of Basque present in the bilingual press does not increase over time, in fact it decreases. In many papers, sometimes under pressure from funding sources, the supplements and so on that were originally published in Basque have gradually tended to disappear.

We have seen that by the end of the seventies the emergence of a Basque- nationalist press in Spanish damaged to the Basque press. Anaitasuna closed shop; Argia itself, after several months’ silence, barely managed to stay afloat. The editors of the veteran the southern Basque Country and Herria in the north were general inter- The creation of est publications. In the case of Argia, circulation improved on account of a Egunkaria new generation of journalists and it became a central focus for writers and journalists who wrote in Basque. But It was indeed a dream. Was a genera- at the end of the eighties there came tion of journalists ready to undertake a still harder challenge: the challenge such a challenge? Would there be to create a Basque language daily enough readers? Some held that the newspaper. only way to answers these questions was to try it. A number of journalists, writers, Basque language enthusiasts and intellectuals joined forces in 1989 A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 37

to found the Egunkaria Sortzen [Creat- ing A Newspaper] group, which spent a year travelling all over the Basque Country telling of the need for a national Basque-language newspaper. Many concerns were voiced at the meetings: “the time for that has not come yet”, “it’s too soon”, “the Basque language is not ready for a newspaper”, “where are the journalists?”, “where are the readers?” Despite it all they decided to go ahead.

Then things started happening fast. In November signatures were collected be reached: some premises had to be for a petition called For a Basque Press. found, a technical and computing in- On the 10th of December at the annual frastructure set up, journalists trained Durango book and disk fair, over fifty and a start-up campaign carried out. figures presented themselves to lay Yet on the 6th of December, Egunkaria down the Basic Characteristics of a was out. Newspaper, and finally, on thest 21 of January, 1990, the Working Group for From them on the questions that had the Creation of a Newspaper was set up been left in the air began finding an- in Donostia, with a Coordinating Com- swers. There were journalists, although mittee, an Economic Committee and finding them meant sucking Argia dry a Journalism Committee. The working of human and other resources. There group prepared a Project for a Basque Newspaper which was approved by the organising group at its meeting on the In a successful strategy 7th of April. From the 15th of May to the for local media, the first 15th of July, the group went from town step was to form a Basque to town presenting the project and col- language association; then lecting donations. At a big festival held in June, issue number 0 was presented. the association could set up The name: what else? Egunkaria [The a magazine. In fact, most of Newspaper]. the local media in the Basque Country were born out of the Regular publication of Egunkaria was promised for the autumn, but there needs of the Basque language was a lot to do before that goal could movement service, underlying which was the right of Basque speakers to receive information in their language. In the present case, this public service was provided by a private entity, owned by thousands of shareholders and driven by the three founding principles of independence, professionalism and diversity. were readers: two years after it began, an independent agency calculated the number of buyers of the paper at 11,212. So it had not been too early after all: there was a demand. The first years were very hard. The Basque Gov- The success of ernment refused to give it subsidies, not only holding back on funds but also the local media on government advertising. The creation of Egunkaria was one The Basque government had hinted major development in the Basque press that it might create a newspaper of its in the nineties; another was the spec- own; in the end nothing came of that. tacular rise of local media. This was a It forced the project to forge ahead in new, innovative option full of vitality: the most difficult conditions. Such an an information source located in the lo- ambitious initiative, involving a central cal community and targeting that same editorial office, regional offices in each community. The pioneer was Arrasate main town, transport to get the paper Press, the first local magazine published out on sale every morning, and an ef- entirely in Basque. It was to serve as a fective subscription system: all this model for many similar projects around and more could hardly be got off the the country. ground without any assistance from public funding. Arrasate Press first came out on the nd2 of December, 1988. A group of friends Eventually, in 1994, Egunkaria and the had had the idea of bringing out a Basque government at last reached an weekly local magazine in Basque, and agreement giving the paper a chance the venture met with immediate suc- to apply for public money and also cess. This was facilitated by the tech- including it in the government adver- nological advantages of the eighties, tisement network. The justification was which made it much easier to publish that Egunkaria, as the only Basque- than before. Self-publishing resources language daily paper, provided a public had advanced greatly and their cost A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 39

had plummeted. And what favoured motivated the group. And it was a dar- them even more was the new, flourish- ing dream, for as we have already seen ing movement of local Basque language from the dire situation of Argia and associations. Their impact was so great Herria at the time, it was not clear sail- that we must pause to look at how ing for the Basque-language press, and these associations started, because lo- there could be no guarantee of success. cal Basque-language media came into being through bottom-up organisation. Although economics was the first obstacle to be surmounted, it was not the The Arrasate Euskaldun Dezagun (“Let only one. At the time there was a wide- us make Arrasate Basque-speaking”) spread belief that the readers of Basque association started in the industrial publications were people with rather heartland of Gipuzkoa province, the high-brow interests, so Basque periodi- High Deba district, in the mid-eighties. cals must have a minority readership. Its initial goal was the normalisation The founders of Arrasate Press realised of Basque in the town and district of that there was a lack of magazines in Arrasate. Its member wanted it to be as Basque targeting ordinary people, and easy and convenient to live in Basque that there was a demand for something as it was to do so in Spanish. First of that would inform on day-to-day top- all, the group set in motion a language awareness campaign. Its main resource was the energy and determination of its own members, but it did obtain further support because some members of the town council were in favour of promoting Basque; moreover, these were people with the necessary training, coming from the first promotion of university students who had carried out all their studies in Basque. There was even a department of Journalism at the University of the Basque Country where they could study what most interested them: local media. There could now be local journalists doing local journalism.

That was how Arrasate Press was born. The ground was ready for sowing, but as always there must also be a seed: in this case, the seed was the dream that ics. Their primary purpose was to pro- The main source of income was to come mote Basque and they believed that a from local advertisers, through modest, magazine might be an appropriate way affordable ads by local shops and busi- of going about this. But they also saw nesses. The magazine was made viable this as meaning that there was a need through a multitude of small payments to break away from the traditional type for adverts, and so could be distributed of Basque press, to discuss subjects not free and come into thousands of local usually found there and write in a style homes, an attractive proposition for that would be more readable. local advertisers.

In search of a formula to solve the But in addition to their creative adver- funding problem, they looked with tising policy, they also sought, and ob- interest at the Ribera Navarra maga- tained, funding from the Basque gov- zine published in Tutera, in southern ernment and the Arrasate town council. Navarre, whose model they adopted. Thanks to the income from advertising A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 41

and from these public institutions, Arrasate Press was able to expand the The Basque group by hiring professional journalists. associations The first issue was distributed free of charge in 1,700 homes in Arrasate; by 1990 it had reached a circulation of The Arrasate formula was so success- 7,000 copies all distributed free in Ar- ful that a similar projects spread to rasate and the surrounding area. Arra- other areas of the Basque Country. sate has a population of about 20,000. The first step was to form a Basque Copies were also being mailed to neigh- language association; then the associa- bouring towns and further abroad, in tion could set up a magazine. In fact, Spain, Catalonia and further afield. In most of the local media in the Basque 1993 the amount of colour used was Country were born out of the needs of increased; by 1998, the availability of the Basque language movement. They digital cameras made possible further are not typical media organisations or modernisation. ordinary businesses, they are media created by grassroots organisations. It But the most notable change that is worthwhile to look at all this in more occurred was in the way the weekly detail, because the whole project was magazine was run. In 1990 Arrasate underpinned by a great deal of careful Telebista, a local TV station, was thinking. started, and Arrasate Euskaldun Deza- gun created ARKO, the Arrasate Media In the late eighties, it was noticed Company. In 2001 the Basque associa- in many places that although asso- tions of the High Deba and the Aramaio ciations and institutions were active in Valley founded Goiena Communication language normalisation in areas such Services. Today it is a cooperative busi- as education, Basque literacy, corpus ness which produces four media and work, language rights and so on, not provides 52 jobs. much was being done about language use. Indeed this was, and continues to be today, one of the greatest obstacles to language normalisation. Analysts interested in normalisation reached the conclusion that it was not enough to carry out campaigns telling speakers to use Basque at all times and in all places if the resources were not in place to allow them to do so. The Basque associations were thus founded in order to Foundation defines these as follows: promote Basque language use. “A grassroots movement is any kind of organisation that is formed outside the The other distinguishing feature of domain of official policy to respond to these associations is that they were particular needs of citizens. Grassroots rooted in a particular town or district. organisations believe in direct partici- The people who started the movement pation and solidarity, without delegat- believed that awareness campaigns ing or competing. Thus the grassroots would be far more effective if they were movement today promotes values that carried out on a more local level, both represent a basis for an alternative by and for the local people. So these way of organising society. Working in were the features of Basque language different fields, the grassroots move- associations when they started up: they ment seeks solutions to many of the were created by local people, in the lo- problems faced by society.” cal town or district, for the local town and district, its members were individu- But why the media? Why look to the als, and those individuals were Basque media when seeking ways to promote speakers. So we may define these as language use and awareness? Because associations formed by Basque speak- the members observed that publishing ers for Basque speakers, as grassroots local media was indeed an effective movements. The Joxemi Zumalabe way to promote language use among Basque speakers. To understand how effective it could be, we should bear in mind that the Basque Country has one of the highest indices in Europe as consumers of the press.

Another basic characteristic of these organisational forms aiming to bring about social initiatives was established from the start: there would be no distribution of any profits among its members or shareholders. If there was any money made from an activity, it was to be funnelled back into the same activity or others with a similar goal: to provide resources for a magazine, start new projects for audiovisual media, or invest in other activities to promote language use such as children’s pro- A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 43

“Where multilingualism is concerned,” we read in this document, “the premise is: first Basque, then other languages. Universalism starts in the home. We need to be cautious, for there are plenty of discourses around which claim to support multilingualism or intercultur- ality yet are really a front concealing quite different policies. This is not just a theoretical, but also a strategic issue. We Basques have survived until today, and are now better prepared than we have ever been in our history, yet para- doxically we may also be worse off than we have ever been before if we get into a multilingual dynamic in which Basque is no longer our number one language. A minority language cannot afford the luxury of allowing Basque bilinguals to grammes, programmes to help lan- cede Basque’s first place on the list.” guage learners practise their Basque, or cultural programmes.

Taken together, the Basque language associations today have a cumulative total of 20,000 members, 400 staff Basque in the members, 3,000 volunteer workers and 95 different local associations. Most media of them belong to a federation called Topagunea (“Meeting Point”). At a con- We have seen that the media and press ference in February, 2011 a document have the power to give a language was approved called Euskaldunon elkarteen oinarriparrak [Basic Prin- prestige, vigour, a compact speaker ciples for Basque-Speaking Associa- community and a robust standard tions], which includes a detailed review form: in a word, to contribute to a lan- of the present-day situation and the guage’s normalisation. And the need for work of the Basque associations, as well standardisation is most critical in the as discussing multilingualism and written language which is where rules universalism. are most needed. frastructure? The right solutions often emerge from inside the language or from contact between languages, but everything is much easier when this has already been going on for a long time. In the case of Basque, it had hardly been going on at all.

The Basque press managed a further step forwards with the publication in 1992 of Egunkaria’s Style Book. The Basque press has played a virtually prescriptive role, in many senses, in the modernisation of the language. Two basic notions underlay the book, which played an important role in regulating spellings and stylistic issues. One was the decision that clarity of expression was the top priority, and the authors took the position that clarity must be sought from within the language’s own The achievement of the Basque- resources. The other was the decision language daily press in this field is to be very cautious in the use of loans. noteworthy. When Egunkaria started in Since they had in mind readers all over 1990, the adoption of modern standard Basque in daily newspapers was still a new phenomenon. The young journalists working on the new project were called on to solve countless problems in all subject areas on a daily basis. Some words and expressions had already been coined and standardised, but what about the countless scientific terms that had not? How should they express in Basque the new concepts being invented in international economics almost daily? What exactly were to be the Basque names for all the sports recognised in the Olympic Games? Or all the terms that refer to modern in- A brief history of the Introductionbasque press 45

the Basque Country, in their choice of words sometimes they borrowed from Spanish and sometimes from French, but in other cases, rather than use a loan word, they opted to employ a rather more common Basque word, giving it a new technical meaning through semantic extension.

Above all, the authors of the Egunkaria style book said that writing had to be clear and accurate, concise, lively and free from redundancy. Others have focused on the need to try to bring written Basque closer to spoken Basque: the written word must sound right. As an exercise, all young journalists were encouraged to try reading their own writing back to themselves: if their ear did not approve, then it was not well written. antena Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 47 BASQUE AUDIOVISUAL MEDIA AND THE INTERNET

Like the print media, Basque radio Then in the seventies, almost simultane- emerged out of the efforts and aspira- ously with the new upsurge in Basque- tions of many individuals. The Basque language production in print media, language was largely absent from the rising demand for local media was the radio in the Basque Country until greeted with the commencement of the eighties. The closest thing to an Basque language programmes on Radio exception is to be found in broadcasts Popular de Bilbao (later to be renamed by Radio Euzkadi, sponsored by the Bizkaia Irratia), and a “24 hours in Basque Government in exile in the Basque” campaign by Radio Popular de 1950s during the middle years of the San Sebastián and Loiola Irratia in de- Franco regime, but these were mostly mand of recognition of the legitimacy in Spanish. Then there was the Basque of a Basque radio station and the need Program (1956) which catered to the for Basque media. Loiola played a key Basque sheepherding immigrants to role for the Basque language. the American West for almost forty years with Basque-language broad- In the meantime, little by little, the casts from Buffalo, Wyoming. During northern Basque radio stations which the fifties and sixties, numerous radio had been founded in the eighties, Gure stations run by the Church started to Irratia (1981), Irulegiko Irratia (1982) include a little Basque in their program- and Xiberoko Boza (1982), became ming, mostly in programmes related to more interesting, stronger and more religion or farm life. permanent. All three stations were kept going by Basque language enthusiasts ies the free radio movement spread and lacked a proper business plan or throughout France, and with the vic- a strong support group that would tory of the Socialist Party in 1981, the wholeheartedly get behind the idea of monopoly of state radio was broken giving the Basque language pride of and free radio stations were made le- place. Important progress in the devel- gal. New broadcasters started popping opment of Basque schools was taking up everywhere. Everything seemed free, place in the ikastola movement. The an open field. On the Lapurdi coast, effort and hard work of many parents the most highly populated part of the and teachers to develop a Basque-lan- northern Basque Country, a group guage network in the schools provided of Basque language enthusiasts who a model for emulation by those who supported Gure Irratia obtained per- wanted to have Basque-language me- mission to place an aerial on a hilltop, dia in the northern Basque Country too. and in spite of difficulties, interference As a journalist of that period said: “The and the lack of experience, the station ikastolas have shown the way... That is began broadcasting on Christmas, one of the greatest truths of the past 1981, completely in Basque. Around decade: Basque should be supported about the same time, Irulegiko Herri and taught in Basque; that seemingly Irratia and Xiberoko Boza also started simple notion is the great revolutionary to broadcast, mainly in Basque. breakthrough.” It should be emphasised that at the The enthusiasts took successful advan- time these radio stations got started, tage of the opportunity. In the eight- the same discussion about the bilingual Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 49

press that was underway in the south- other in the chiefly rural areas of inland ern Basque Country was taking place Lapurdi and Low Navarre, faithfully re- among the local Basque movement. flecting their present-day concerns and They needed a radio station in Basque, interests. One of its presenters, looking otherwise with the existing bilingual back several years later on the station’s model the information would at best contribution, thought it had made a remain stereotyped as always, with difference towards getting rid of the Basque only used to talk about verse inferiority complex of Basque speakers: singers, concerts, religious services, “They had always been taught by their farming and sheep, while news relating parents’ generation that Basque was a to the towns and modern life would be useless minority language, but hearing in French. it on the radio every day somehow le- gitimised it. We tried to show that it is Gure Irratia was immediately well possible to live in Basque and use it to received and represented a big devel- communicate.” opment for the local Basque language movement. Soon after starting, its The third station in the north was broadcasting hours were increased and Xiberoko Boza, the Voice of Zuberoa, again the response of listeners was which also served a mountainous rural very positive. Among its achievements district and a predominantly farming were some of sociological significance: and sheep-herding population. It began the individuals who got the radio go- broadcasting in 1982 from premises lent ing recall that it had the effect of by the Maule town council on the first getting people whom they knew talk- floor of the castle at Gotaine-Irabarne. ing in Basque for the first time, and Xiberoko Boza developed along similar in many areas it managed to achieve lines to its two sister stations, aiming reporting scoops. to stimulate Basque culture, although Zuberoa’s situation was more complex Irulegi Irratia began broadcasting in than that of Lapurdi and Low Navarre. 1982 out of the countryside, with fif- teen volunteers and one paid employee. The profile of present-day It broadcast for an hour a day, and its promoters were clear about what they Basque cyberspace is marked hoped to achieve: first and foremost, to by two main features: the broadcast in Basque; secondly, to cre- fact that Basque is a minority ate something that local people would language used diglossically, find useful. with under a million speakers; The radio became a true hub, putting and the material wealth of the the inhabitants in touch with each Basque community Zuberoa is the most remote part of most striking about this project is the the Basque Country, cut off from the way it was built up out of nothing, and remaining areas by linguistic, political, the pride of place accorded to the me- cultural and sociological factors. At first dia in language recovery. the radio used French about 40% of the time, more than the other stations, but Almost simultaneous with the birth of the proportion of Basque eventually the three radio stations in the northern increased. Basque Country, but with very different conditions and origins, was that Given that these three stations shared a of Euskadi Irratia as part of the Basque common project despite local contrasts, government’s plans for a public broad- in 1997 they joined forces to form the casting service. Getting a general-pur- Euskal Irratiak federation, which has pose, government-funded radio service had four members since 2001 with the going, broadcasting 24 hours a day and addition of Hendaia’s Antxeta Irratia. with full coverage of local and foreign news entailed challenges, but thanks According to the most recent data the to the solidity and stability of a strong, federation provides 31 paid jobs and is strategic, government-sponsored pro- supported by hundreds of volunteers. ject, Euskadi Irratia eventually achieved Apart from the good results, what is the goal of becoming the most impor- Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 51

tant Basque radio station in the coun- Franco regime. Not long afterwards, in try, reaching the largest audience. 1971, France’s public television channel France 3 inaugurated a 75-minute Basque-language magazine programme which ran on the first and third Saturday of each month at 6:30 pm. This and Spanish television’s regional Television programme Telenorte, which included interviews and some fixed slots in Basque was used for the first time on Basque, some with Iriondo, were to re- television in broadcasts of the finals in main the only television programmes in the handball championships of 1965 Basque for twenty years. This situation and 1966 on Spanish Television. The continued until the Basque Govern- broadcasts were in Spanish and Basque, ment created Basque Television (ETB) with the journalist Jose Mari Iriondo as in the early eighties. Given the minor the Basque language presenter. It was scale of what had been done until then, a one-off, minor though significant; for practical purposes the real history a mere exception to the general ban of Basque language television began on Basque in broadcasting under the with ETB. Creation of this brand-new public sta- information and for political participa- tion was approved in 1982 by the first tion by Basque citizens, as well as a Basque government set up after the fundamental medium of cooperation end in 1975 of the Franco dictator- with our own educational system and ship. It was a momentous event of for the fomentation and diffusion of symbolic significance; for the first time Basque culture, bearing in mind the fo- ever, a public institution had demon- mentation and development of Euskara, strated real determination to promote all of this as a basis and foundation for Basque-language media. The law that the adequate development of the rights was passed to implement it, although and freedoms of the citizens of this plagued with technical and political is- Autonomous Community.” sues, had written into it a declaration about the importance of the media for The Basque Minister of Culture at the fomenting language and culture: “Re- time, Ramon Labaien, was also clear specting the concept of essential public about the objective of the new public service, the present Law configures television service: “One of our main the social mass media, to which the priorities was to protect and promote same refers, as a capital instrument for the Basque language, because we were Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 53

convinced of the broad principle that The Spanish authorities assumed their there can be no Basque Country with- language had the immovable right to out the Basque language. But we also monopolise the media. believed that without Basque-language mass media, the language could not Basque television stood its ground, survive. So the Basque Government de- however: its news programmes would clared in its 1980 programme its inten- not be limited to local-interest sto- tion to create a television station that ries. When the uproar died down, ETB would support the Basque language.” carried on exploring new terrain. In April the first Basque-language film This development made big waves in the was aired. world of Basque culture. A generously funded, publicly controlled broadcast- Initially the station alternated Basque ing company meant unprecedented op- and Spanish, but in 1986 the govern- portunities to develop specific cultural ment launched a second channel, ETB2, models and new audiovisual content. to be all in Spanish, while the original There was also a sociological impact: ETB1 became a Basque-only channel. from the beginning domestic produc- The move was met with widespread tions alternated with dubbed foreign criticism from Basque language programmes. A good many viewers enthusiasts who feared the new were amazed the first time they saw Spanish-language channel would have a black person in an American series the effect of limiting the social use of speak Basque. Basque. Nonetheless the new arrangement went ahead and has become ETB put out its first news broadcast on established. Today the two channels the 1st of February, 1983, setting off a have distinct programme schedules and new polemic: the Spanish television au- their own content, although they share thorities were quick to call to account common resources. those in charge of Euskal Telebista because they held the view that the latter’s news programmes should limit themselves to covering local current events. It was not supposed to compete with Spanish television; it wasn’t supposed to be a proper television station! There was an outrage. What, a real television station in Basque? How preposterous! What a scandal! A rival service that competed with the Spanish-language media, in Basque? Unheard of, absurd! In addition to public television stations, in Basque in several written media, in the wake of the success of the local placed one of his stories on the Inter- press, local television stations have net before publishing it in print. In this sprung up all over the Basque Country. curious manner, Goigoiñoei maittea- Many of these are linked to print me- maittea ushered in the era of Basque dia; one project stands out in particular, language on the Internet. Since then, Hamaika Telebista, which has emerged countless people have set out to put as a common project backed by several the latest technological advances to communication groups aiming to pro- work for Basque. Thus, following in the mote Basque-language television all footsteps of paper, sound and visual over the Basque Country. This channel media before them, the resources of currently broadcasts from Bilbao and cyberspace were harnessed to ad- there are plans to start another station vance the cause of Basque language in Donostia. normalisation and promotion. Today, although we are still learning how to make the best use possible of those resources, enormous progress has already been made. It is now possible to find a wealth of Basque-language The Internet productions, materials, resources and information on the Internet. As always, there have been some notable leaders Back in 1996 before most people real- in the field. ised that the early version of the Inter- net then available was about to turn One such landmark is a blog called into a rapid, general-use medium of sustatu.com. The portal began in communication, Vicent Gil de Paules, a November, 2001, as an Internet news writer who had published erotic tales service, after creating Goiena Komuni- kazio Zerbitzuak, a trailblazer in local press projects, and an Internet service company called CodeSyntax. This was not the first ever Basque blog, but it was one of the earliest and its influence and example were felt by many; indeed it introduced a lot of people to the Internet as a Basque-language medium, and out of the idea sprang many new initiatives. Today, Sustatu is a collective blog whose main articles can be posted by its readers. Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 55

But there were some significant advances before Sustatu. One was the development of Xuxen, an automatic spell-checker for Basque, by Basque- speaking IT specialists in the Computer Science faculty of the University of the Basque Country. This involved many collaborators who took the Basque grammar and lexicon to pieces one word at a time, running through all the possible forms each word can have. It was a milestone because it brought the Basque language into the realm of modern information technology, and demonstrated to the world that seventies: true, he said, Basques have Basque was a language that could be always lagged behind in the develop- adapted to modern technology. Use of ment of the media; they had had a the tool, which was found very use- late start in comparison with their big ful, became very widespread, and has neighbours, and had to do the best even contributed to the standardisa- they could with limited resources. All tion of the language, by correcting very well, but in the age of the Internet people’s spellings. those arguments no longer hold water. “This time round we had a chance to By 1997, the digital edition of the join the race at roughly the same time weekly magazine Argia (Sareko Argia) as everyone else, so we can’t put it and a new portal called kaixo.com down to a chronological delay. As for went on line, and the following year the the lack of resources which is claimed cultural organisation Eusko Ikaskuntza to be a disadvantage of being a minor- began publishing its electronic weekly ity language, money factors do not newsletter Euskonews. play such a big part in creating media of the new kind as they used to. With In spite of the flurry of activity, experts a few honourable exceptions, I find well acquainted with possibilities af- the meagre attempts of the traditional forded by new technology worried media to put something on line an ut- that opportunities were being lost. The ter disappointment. They merely upload alarm was raised at the First Congress whatever they have printed, often in of Journalists in Basque, which took a way that is awkward to access; they place in 2004, by Josu Landa, a jour- store items too lengthy to print, such as nalist who had worked in the field of reports and declarations, on a website Basque journalism since the end of the of unlimited size; they pose questions According to analysts, the profile of present-day Basque cyberspace is marked by two main features: the fact that Basque is a minority language used diglossically, with under a million speakers; and the material wealth of the Basque community, with an economic standing slightly above the European average. While the former point is an obstacle to the use of Basque in the new media, the second factor works in its favour. A 2003 study for discussion; and that is pretty found that Basque ranks in the forti- much it.” eth position in a listing of languages ordered according to the number of Landa was referring to what the con- Internet pages in existence, and a more ventional media were doing to exploit recent survey puts it at number thirty- the Internet, but perhaps he was look- four! According to Basque government ing in the wrong place. The real news statistics, within the Basque Autono- was not about switching over to the mous Community the proportion of Internet, but what was emerging on Basque-language pages is on the rise, the Internet itself and being created having increased from 15% in 2004 to for the Internet. Take the blogosphere. 24% in 2008. The statistics show that Following the appearance of Sustatu the number of people who log on in in 2001, there was a proliferation of Basque is larger, in proportion to the blogs. Blogger communities arose such population, than the percentage who as Eibar.org, Goiena.net and Uztarria. do so in English! com, where countless people started their own blogs. But the real explo- One of the most visited sites is berria. sion came from 2005 onwards, when info, the electronic portal of the only the first automatic blog platforms national Basque-language newspa- appeared, such as Blogari.net, Blogak. per. It gets about 13,000 hits per day. com and Mundua.com. Since no spe- The Basque-language version of the cial courses or training are needed broadcasting company’s website, Eitb. for anyone to be able to start their com, gets about 7,000 visits a day, fol- own blog, their numbers shot up, with lowed by the websites of Elhuyar, Argia 5,400 blogs created within two years of and Hitza. which some three thousand were really functioning, with entries and replies. Basque audiovisual media andIntroduction the internet 57

The basque-language press and Introductionmedia today 59 THE BASQUE-LANGUAGE PRESS AND MEDIA TODAY

The Basque media have flourished dur- The following list is not exhaustive but ing the past two decades as they had gives a fairly complete picture of what never done before in all history, and there is today: there is now unprecedented diversity both in the press and in audiovisual media; not to mention the Internet where there are general information portals, individual web pages, specialist sites and so on and so forth. Then there are Print media the institutional media, those run by organisations, business projects and local programmes. Some of these have Daily papers become permanent fixtures and serve as points of reference in their respective • Berria: The only national daily fields. Others face difficulties to keep newspaper. Founded in 2003, going, and depend on the availability of three months after its predecessor funding. But there are still gaps. There is Egunkaria was forcefully closed no sports paper in Basque, for instance; down by Spain’s Guardia Civil. Pub- more daily papers are needed, and lished daily except Mondays, with more specialist journals and magazines. offices in all the major cities of the Many things are missing, but a great Basque Country. Has its own print deal has been done. centre and distribution network. • Hernaniko Kronika: published since 2000, daily, carrying local news for Periodicals the Hernani area. Published by the local Dobera Basque Association. General-interest magazines

• Argia: The standard-bearer of the Basque-language press. Published weekly.

• Herria: Weekly serving the northern Basque Country.

• Aldaketa 16: Weekly publication by the Madrid-based company that produces the Cambio 16 magazine. Began publication in 2003. General news and opinion.

• Hitza: A chain of local daily newspapers, originally set going by the company that published the now- defunct Egunkaria, with editions serving several different districts Tolosaldea, Lea-Artibai, Urola Kosta, Goierri, Oarsoaldea and Donostia. Their joint circulation reached 45,000. Today, most have become local news offices for the Berria newspaper. The basque-language press and Introductionmedia today 61

Scientific, Human and medical and social sciences technical • Jakin: A cultural journal. Started in the fifties. Underwent a complete magazines and overhaul in the seventies, finding its journals niche as a cultural journal. • Larrun: A journal of thinking, published as a monthly supplement with • Elhuyar: Science and technology mag- Argia. azine. Published monthly since 1974. • Uztaro: The Human and Social Sci- ences journal of the Basque Summer University.

• Kondaira: Electronic history journal.

• Gogoa: Journal of the University of the Basque Country on language, knowledge, communication and action.

• Eleria: Basque legal journal, founded in 1996.

• Bat: Sociolinguistics journal.

• Aldiri: Architecture journal. Pub- lished every three months.

• Ekaia: Science and technology journal of the University of the Basque Country.

• Lanabesa: Economic and business review. Literature and Education, culture teaching and

• Hegats and Kalegats: Literature language journal published by the Basque Writers’ Association. • Aizu!: A monthly magazine in easy Basque published by the Basque • Maiatz: Literature magazine of the adult language school network AEK. northern Basque Country. • Administrazioa euskaraz: Maga- • Karmel: Three-monthly magazine zine published by the association for of culture, ecclesiastical subjects and the use of Basque in public admin- opinion. istration.

• Bertsolari: Journal of verse-singing. • Euskararen berripapera: Periodical publication of the Vice-Ministry for • Entzun: Music magazine. Language Policy of the Basque Gov-

• Nabarra: Cultural magazine.

• Gaur 8: A weekly review of general and cultural subjects, published as a supplement with Gara newspaper.

• Erlea: A literature journal published by the Basque language academy. The basque-language press and Introductionmedia today 63

ernment which informs of work on Basque language and normalisation. Leisure, travel • Euskera: Journal of the academy of and consumer the Basque language (Euskaltzain- dia). interests • HABE: Magazine published by HABE, the government institution for the • Nora: Magazine about leisure and teaching of Basque to adults. cultural activities, published as a supplement of the Berria newspaper. • Hik hasi: Magazine for teachers.

• Litterae Vasconicae: Journal that publishes research on Basque language and literature.

• Senez: Journal about translation.

• Tantak: Education journal of the University of the Basque Country.

• Hizpide: Journal on Basque language teaching published by HABE.

• Xabiroi: Comic book produced by the Basque Federation of Ikastolas.

• Aisia biziz: Magazine about leisure activities.

• Zazpi haizetara: Travel magazine.

• Eroski: Magazine for consumers. Local news and • Gauixe (Sakana, Navarre) information • Kalaputxi (Mutriku, Gipuzkoa) • Karkara (Aia-Orio, Gipuzkoa)

• Aikor (Txorierri, Bizkaia) • Karrika (Iruñerria/Pamplona, Navarre) • Aiurri (Beterri, Gipuzkoa) • Mailope (Araitz-Betelu, Larraun and • Aldaize (Idiazabal, Gipuzkoa) Lekunberri, Navarre)

• Anboto (Durangaldea, Bizkaia) • Noaua! (Usurbil, Gipuzkoa)

• Artzape (Getaria, Bizkaia) • Otamotz (Urretxu-Zumarraga, Gipuzkoa) • Baleike (Zumaia, Gipuzkoa) • Pil-pilean (Soraluze, Gipuzkoa) • Barren (Elgoibar, Gipuzkoa) • Prest (Deustu, Bizkaia) • Begitu (Arratia, Bizkaia) • Pulunpe (Ultzama, Anue, Odieta, • Berton (Mahatserri, Bilbao, Bizkaia) Atetz, Imotz, Lantz and Basaburua, Navarre) • Danbolin (Zestoa, Gipuzkoa) • Ttipi-Ttapa (Bidasoa, Navarre) • Drogetenitturri (Ermua-Mallabia, Gipuzkoa-Bizkaia) • Txintxarri (Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa)

• Eta Kitto! (Eibar, Gipuzkoa) • UK (Uribe Kosta, Bizkaia)

• Galtzaundi (Tolosa, Gipuzkoa) • Uztarria (Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa)

• Gaztezulo (Donostia/San Sebastian, • Xaguarte (Zerain, Gipuzkoa) Gipuzkoa) • Xuka (published by the Euskarabidea • Geu (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Araba) service in Navarre)

• Goienkaria (Debagoiena, Gipuzkoa) The basque-language press and Introductionmedia today 65

Radio stations • Xorroxin • Beleixe

• Euskadi Irratia • Karrape

• Bilbo Hiria Irratia • Aralar Irratia

• Gure Irratia

• Irulegi Irratia

• Xiberoko Boza

• Antxeta Irratia Television

• Oñati Irratia stations

• Arrasate Irratia • EITB • Zirika • Hamaika Telebista • Oiartzun • Tokiko Telebistak • Txolarre

• Bizkaia Irratia

• Arrate Irratia

• Euskalerria Irratia

• Esan Erran Irratia

Synthesis:Introduction key points 67 SYNTHESIS: KEY POINTS

Basque has never enjoyed a privileged pace, and of language clubs, small as- position. It was not a dominant lan- sociations, groups of friends even. It guage, or a language of prestige, or may seem at times that they were strik- supported by governments and money, ing out in the dark without a ground or protected by a state of its own, nor a plan, yet in a broader perspective we language with a great literature. But in see that they were guided by certain the nineteenth century, and even more intuitions, which showed them the way so in the twentieth, those who loved forward and made their endeavours Basque came to realise that unless ultimately beneficial. they were to become fully aware of the importance that the language had, it From this experience, let us attempt to would not survive long. And also that if extract some general ideas which may be they lost their language they would not of use to other language communities. survive as a distinct people. This idea fuelled the movement and gave it the • The press and media are a funda- determination to make great efforts to mental component of the language achieve linguistic unity, build a Basque- recovery process because they act as language education system and create an open window: through them we the Basque-language media which took open up our world, and through the off in the nineteen-sixties. window the world reaches us.

The Basque press and media formed • Newspapers, television and radio part of that drive. As in the other sec- are more than just a periodic in- tors, it was the efforts and initiatives terpretation of reality: they are the of certain individuals that set the construction of reality, a collective reality. Hence it is important that the the media provide an incomparable language community should have opportunity to develop the language. builders taking part in the construc- We might say that the media are a tion work, so that everyone can help language’s teachers, and if it is true decide what kind of house we want that culture is more important than to build. any army for the survival of a modern people, then it is also true that • The media give speakers of a language an enduring culture cannot be built a chance to control the public repre- on the foundation of a non-durable sentation of themselves; to share the language. The press and media share ideas, viewpoints and issues that con- in the responsibility for keeping the cern other members of the same com- language alive. munity; and to incorporate the notion of a collective Us in the community. • When Basque began to be used in Thus the media are an incomparable the media it rarely achieved much place for developing the language in more than a token presence which either a positive or negative direction, was often subordinated to political either consolidating it or degrading it. interests. Only when the Basque- For language communities wishing to language media began to come into advance towards standardisation, the their own and started to make their press and media are indispensable. own way forward did Basque achieve a status in the media comparable to • When one attempts to inform about that of Spanish or French; only then the culture of minority communities could Basque begin to encroach on through the medium of dominant the territory hitherto occupied by the languages, the result is to increase dominant languages alone. the subordination and assimilation of those communities. Given that to- • Thirty years ago, the press and day the future of minority languages media of the Basque Country had will depend on the media, ways must to answer the basic question: What be found to achieve effective media, are Basque media? They concluded such as on the Internet. that bilingualism was the wrong way to go, because it always meant • The press and media are also fun- that Basque was ultimately kept damental to the regularisation, back as a second-class language. So consolidation and strengthening of the decision was made that Basque a language. A language that must be media are those that are in Basque, used to communicate about all kinds and that the Basque language com- of subjects in a wide range of fields munity needed self-defined models is forced constantly to adapt, and whose only language was Basque. Synthesis:Introduction key points 69

In other words, there was a need • The local press has undergone for a press, radio and television that tremendous growth over the past looked straight to the heart of the two decades. They are media that Basque language community. have been created by cultural associations supporting Basque lan- • Most of the media that were cre- guage normalisation, hence born of ated at that time, whether they grassroots action. They serve a small were newspapers, magazines or region, being produced locally and radio stations, came about through targeting local readers. One of their grassroots initiatives, with the single premises is: “First Basque, then other exception of EITB (the public Basque languages.” radio and television corporation) which the Basque government cre- • The Internet offers a great op- ated. Thus it was demonstrated that portunity to languages without a sometimes a strong will suffices to previous written tradition. Let us not bring about media. Various business miss this train as it passes through structures were tried out, one of the our station! Whatever spaces one’s greatest challenges being to achieve own language fails to occupy will the right balance between militancy be grabbed by English, Spanish or and professionalism. another dominant language! BIBLIOGRPHY • • • • • • • • • • (J. Amezaga,E.AranaandP.Azpillaga, 2010) Medios decomunicacióneneuskera Comunicación ypoder(ManuelCastells, 2009) (Lierni AlkortaandAitorZuberogoitia,2009) Masa-komunikaziotik Informazioaren gizartera (M. Gonzalez,2008) Euskal Herrikoprentsa, XVIII.mendetik1945era (Mike CormackandNiamhHourigan,2007) Minority LanguageMedia Bidegorriak hizkuntzentzat(AitorZuberogoitia,2005) comunicación (BriggsandBurke,2002) De Gutenberg aInternet,unahistoriasocialdelosmedios Masa komunikazioaren funtziosoziala(J.Basterretxea,1999) Bi begiratu euskarazko kazetarihizkerari (JonSarasua,1996) Euskal Prentsaren sorrera etagarapena (JavierDiazNoci,1995)

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