Catalonia International has published the report on the coverage and portrayal of Catalonia in 10 major international newspapers during 2024

Since 2019, Catalonia International has been monitoring coverage of Catalonia in 10 major international newspapers: The Washington Post and The New York Times (United States), The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph (United Kingdom), Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica (Italy), and Le Figaro and Le Monde (France). As was the case last year, the company Rebold won the tender and, therefore, was commissioned to produce the 2024 report. In addition to measuring the coverage and mentions of Catalonia, it also analyses its tone, protagonists and sources of information, among other things.

The main conclusions of the report include the following:

• 1,000 news stories on Catalonia were published in the 10 newspapers analysed. This figure includes articles in which Catalonia is the main protagonist (32.5%) and those in which it is only mentioned (67.5%). The total figure is clearly higher than that of 2023 (427), the main reason for which is that the research criteria have been changed and news discussing the Catalan language and celebrities featured as Catalans has been included.
• The distribution of news stories by country is rather balanced, with the European block at the forefront (France 25%, Italy 25%, Great Britain 23% and Germany 20%) and the United States behind it (7%). The newspapers with most news published are Le Figaro (146), the Corriere (137), The Guardian (130) and the FAZ (119).
• The five most noteworthy subjects of 2024 were: the participation of Barcelona FC in the Champions League (57 news stories), food (56), regional elections (43), the impact of the drought, with fires and restrictions (40) and the MotoGP World Championship (31).
• In terms of subject areas, the distinct decline in political news stories (19% in 2024 compared with 46% in 2023) is clear, due to a drop in media interest in Catalan politics and the inclusion of news on Catalan celebrities, which led to a rise in other areas. The most featured political events are the May elections and the brief return of Puigdemont to Barcelona in August, marking two major media milestones on Catalonia in 2024 (a lot of news over very few days).
• News stories are distributed by area is as follows: Sport 32% (Barcelona FC, men's and women's Champions League, Pep Guardiola, MotoGP), society 28% (drought, food), politics 19% (elections, Puigdemont), and culture (Picasso, Orwell) 17%.
• News regarding culture takes on a predominantly positive tone (73%), whereas news on sports (54-44%) and society (44-41%) is both neutral and positive on an equal footing. A neutral tone is primarily used for news on the economy and politics, much more so than a positive. 70% of political news stories are given a neutral tone, and this is the only area in which the negative tone (23%) exceeds the positive (7%).
• Many of the people who appear in the news about Catalonia are Spanish politicians, such as Pedro Sánchez, who occupies the top position (15%). Among the Catalans, Carles Puigdemont appears in second place (11%), Pep Guardiola is third (6.6%), and Salvador Illa is fourth (5.6%).
• Other interesting facts include the presence of Aitana Bonmatí (with interviews in the New York Times and The Guardian) and Alèxia Putellas, ranked 10th and 11th in sports news; and the fact that the Olympic Stadium (16 news stories) and the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya (15) exceeded the Sagrada Família (14) by very little; that Miquel Barceló and Jaume Plensa have each appeared twice, far behind Dalí (26) and Picasso (23); that the FAZ takes a great interest in the superblocks of Barcelona, always discussing them in a positive light; and that Eva Baltasar is the first living writer to appear.
• The list of media sources mentioned in news stories referring to Catalonia is headed by El País and followed by La Vanguardia, El Mundo, TVE and El Periódico de Catalunya.