Public media seek solvency

Ecuadornews:

El Tiempo, one of the two print media managed by the State, inaugurated its new offices in downtown Cuenca.  In those offices El Telégrafo, Ecuador TV and Pública FM also operate. The azuayo newspaper went through a redesign of its pages.

Every day 2,500 copies are printed in tabloid format. His proposal highlights local issues. Unify physically and structurally public media, so that they can be solvent “and as self-sufficient as possible”, is the current challenge of state firms, says Martha Moncayo, general manager of Public Media.

As part of the actions to fulfill that objective, the new El Tiempo newspaper offices in Cuenca were inaugurated. For 23 years, the newspaper Azuayo was based at the southern exit of the city. The monthly cost of leasing the property came to $ 8,000 plus the Value Added Tax.

Since May of this year, the writing of El Tiempo, together with the correspondents of El Telégrafo, Ecuador TV and Pública FM, operate in a heritage house located near the Alejandro Serrano Aguilar stadium. Now, the monthly cost of the rent is $ 3,500 plus VAT. For Juan Pablo Veintimilla, deputy director of the newspaper, the new location is strategic because they are three blocks from the center of the city, an area in which the social, administrative, political and commercial activities of Cuenca take place.

That the public media work under one roof ensures the coverage of the news generated in the country and the world, indicates the deputy director of the form. Time is one of the two printed media managed by the State.

The other, El Telégrafo, initiated the collaboration with his counterpart in January 2018. He did it to execute the redesign of the Azuayo newspaper. Xavier Peña, head of design, and Carlos Proaño, head of infographics of El Telégrafo (winners of several awards), were in charge of the project.

For three months they traveled from Guayaquil to Cuenca to carry out an editorial  study of the print media. Proaño knew that El Tiempo was born in a tabloid format. However, years later its size grew to the standard.

The modification responded to the need to compete with the other local newspapers that were published in that format. The proposal of the professionals was to return to the roots of the newspaper. Fernando Larenas, editorial director of El Telégrafo, adds that the decision was made for economic reasons and because that is the format most used in the world press.

It also allows for easier transportation and reading. Marcelo Cabrera, mayor of Cuenca, participated in the inauguration of the new offices of the newspaper azuayo. The burgomaster assures that the public media is going through a positive change.

On the same day and month of the foundation of Cuenca, El Tiempo was published for the first time, on April 12, 1955. The same date, but in 2018, the Cuencans knew about the renewed rotation made up of 32 pages. The redesign involved a hierarchical ordering of the information.

In the first pages (4) go local topics. There stands out an image, considered the photograph of the day. According to Peña, the new face of the newspaper responds to an avant-garde design. Newspapers like El País, from Spain, The Guardian from England adjusted their size. “The tendency is to shrink, not enlarge,” says the designer. A total of 2,500 copies of El Tiempo are printed daily in Editogran, Guayaquil.

The amount is given by Marcos Vivanco, print manager. Veintimilla argues that there is a growth curve that responds to the improvement of content and staging. Larenas also highlights the value of the contents. “Journalism, to be excellent, requires good professionals and here is the writing of El Tiempo to always tell the truth,” he said during the inauguration of the new offices. (I)

Source: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/medios/1/medios-publicos-solvencia-ecuador