Miguel Barroso, member of the board of administrators of Grupo Prisa, dies at 70 | Society | EUROtoday

Miguel Barroso Ayats (Zaragoza, 70 years outdated), member of the board of administrators of Grupo Prisa and editorial advisor, died this Saturday in Madrid, sufferer of a coronary heart assault. Graduated in Law and Philosophy and Letters (specializing in Modern and Contemporary History) on the University of Barcelona, ​​Barroso had centered his skilled exercise on the sector of communication after working towards journalism in a number of media, together with EL PAÍS.

After listening to the information final evening, the president of Grupo Prisa (writer of EL PAÍS), Joseph Oughourlian, stated: “I deeply regret the death of Miguel Barroso. Right now, we are all in a state of shock faced with the unexpected news. My relationship with him has been magnificent. He has always contributed, both to me and to the board of directors of Prisa, his extraordinary professional experience. I want to convey my deepest condolences to Miguel’s family. “All members of the Prisa board are mourning the disappearance of a person of great value.”

His profession included consulting work on media in Latin American international locations for the corporate Hispasat and obligations on the Fnac Group, a European distributor of cultural leisure merchandise, the place in 1993 he directed the launch of the model within the Peninsula and served as common director of the Spanish subsidiary. Later, he was worldwide director of Communication and Marketing on the group’s worldwide headquarters in Paris. In 2001, he participated, together with 100 professionals, particularly linked to tv and audiovisual manufacturing, within the launch of the digital newspaper lacorrientealterna.comcentered on information about solidarity, ecology, music, cinema and literature.

In the final decade he had been linked to WPP, the world’s main communication and advertising. First as common director of the Young & Rubicam promoting company in Spain, and later as growth director for Central America and the Caribbean from Havana. Finally, he was appointed director of WPP Spain. In March 2021 he was appointed director of Grupo Prisa (writer of EL PAÍS) on the proposal of Amber Capital, a place he presently held. The group highlighted his skilled expertise and his information of the media and the world of communication, each in Europe and Latin America, and his match with the targets of Prisa’s strategic plan.

The determine of Miguel Barroso acquired political relevance at first of 2003, when the then common secretary of the PSOE, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, integrated him into his trusted staff as a communication advisor for the municipal elections in May of that yr. Barroso had already held positions of belief for the Minister of Education José María Maravall through the first Government of Felipe González, with whom he later collaborated in some essential moments of his political life, similar to through the 1993 common election marketing campaign. that the socialist chief efficiently settled in opposition to the PP candidate, José María Aznar.

After the 2003 municipal marketing campaign, Zapatero requested him to proceed collaborating with him with a view to the overall elections of March 2004. After his electoral success, the socialist chief integrated him into the La Moncloa staff and appointed him Secretary of State. Communication. Barroso already advised the President of the Government that he would contribute to the “start” of the legislature, however that he wouldn’t end it as a result of he needed to attend to non-public commitments derived from his literary exercise.

During the yr and a half in La Moncloa, till September 2005, Barroso took on the duty of reforming public tv to take away it from the partisan battle and to reorder the audiovisual map. During his time in La Moncloa, the foundations of the legislation have been laid, authorized in 2006, which allowed RTVE to be degovernmentalized and a brand new stage opened, through which the president of state radio and tv turned elected by Parliament. At that stage, the Efe company additionally took a basic step with the ratification of the Editorial Statute, which ensures the independence of journalists.

In the audiovisual subject, Barroso contributed to designing a brand new map, marked by the implementation of digital terrestrial tv (DTT) and the start of recent channels. This reform allowed Cuatro to launch free-to-air programming and La Sexta to acquire a broadcast license. Luis Arroyo, who labored with Barroso in La Moncloa in these years, remembers that Zapatero referred to as him to make a change within the sector. “He dedicated his life to the task of modernizing communication. It was very archaic and relations with the media had been greatly affected during Aznar’s mandate,” says Arroyo, current president of the Ateneo de Madrid, who highlights “Barroso’s broad culture, tireless work and extremely brilliant capacity for analysis.” He also highlights “the impeccable progressive principles” that he at all times defended.

Later, in April 2006, he replaced María Asunción Ansorena as general director of the Casa de América, after being appointed by consensus by the three different administrations that make up the institution’s board of trustees: Government, Community of Madrid and City Council of Madrid. the capital. In addition to EL PAÍS, he worked as a columnist in other media outlets such as the Italian agency Associated NewspapersMagazine The Old Mole or the Valencia Newspaper.

Miguel Barroso was co-author of the book Caribbean Chronicles (Editorial El País/Aguilar, 2006) and had also published two novels: Dawn with ants in your mouth (Debate, 1999) and A sensitive subject (Random House, 2009), whose plots take place in Cuba, his other great passion. The first was translated into eight languages ​​and made into a film, with Barroso as co-writer, by his brother Mariano in 2005. As a specialist on the Caribbean island, where he lived for long periods, he was preparing a book on linguistic shifts in Latin America, whose notes kept in a leather folder.

Barroso was married to the journalist Charo Izquierdo, with whom he had two daughters, Camila and Cristina, and, later, to the previous socialist minister Carme Chacón – who died in 2017 -, with whom he had a son, Miquel. His present associate was the Cuban anesthesiologist Dreydi Monduy.