Public relations are key to a sustained corporate visibility

3/20/2026

For years, Spain has been among the European countries with the lowest overall trust in news media. This frequently cited fact falsely leads foreign companies to believe that media relations in Spain are losing importance.

 

Nevertheless, the underlying facts paint a fairly different picture. As shown by the Reuters Institute’s Digital News Report 2025*, the declining media trust rate in Spain is in clear contrast with a growing number of readers willing to pay for quality journalism. Spanish media consumption is thus not moving away from journalism, but away from the noise. The fact that readers are becoming more selective and increasingly trust quality media is a shift that strengthens the position of high-quality media brands. Daily newspapers such as El País, El Mundo, and El Confidencial are gaining strategic importance because they offer guidance, context, and reliability. In an environment of constant information overload, credibility is concentrated among a smaller number of clearly identifiable media outlets. 

This development is particularly relevant for companies from other countries; anyone who perceives Spain as a difficult or fragmented media market runs the risk of overlooking the fact that today the Spanish media system is more demanding today, not weaker. Visibility alone is no longer enough; journalistic validation is crucial and it would be a mistake to equate declining trust with reduced media relevance and rely solely on LinkedIn, corporate publishing, or controlled messages (e.g., “paid content”) without editorial filters. Although this approach might work to a some extent, these initiatives are generally  less successful without concurrent media relations efforts.

On top of this, communication strategies still tend to underestimate the role of  quality media in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Search engines, AI assistants, and generative models preferentially draw on established journalistic sources. Those with a feeble presence in quality media tend to be overlooked by the algorithms. One could argue that in this context, media relations are the base for both human and machine perception.

Communication strategies based on restraint, minimal personalization, and reactive media relations might work at home, but are not necessarily applicable in Spain. Here, silence can quickly be interpreted as aloofness and scarce information or context tends to signal intransparency. Media invisibility is a handicap which is why professional media relations is of vital importance. This involves consistency with a stream of high-quality content that stands out from the competition. 

In a climate of growing skepticism toward the nonstop flow of information, quality journalism is becoming more valuable than ever. Being present in trusted media outlets strengthens a brand’s reputation and helps build a lasting connection with audiences in Spain. 

 

FAQs

Declining trust in the media does not mean less influence, but rather greater selectivity. More and more users are willing to pay for high-quality journalism, as shown by the Digital News Report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. This leads to attention and credibility being concentrated on established media outlets. For companies, this means that media relations are not becoming obsolete, but rather crucial for maintaining visibility in trustworthy contexts.

No. Own channels such as LinkedIn or corporate publishing offer control, but no independent validation. In Spain, journalistic context plays a central role in reputation. Without a presence in credible media, corporate messages lose their impact because they lack external validation.

Quality media act as gatekeepers for credibility. Titles such as El País, El Mundo, or El Confidencial offer not only reach but also context and context. In Spain, corporate reputation is largely shaped where content is journalistically vetted and contextualized.

AI systems, search engines, and generative models prioritize content from established journalistic sources. Companies without a media presence in such sources lose visibility not only among people but also in algorithmic systems. Media relations thus become a key factor for digital discoverability.

In Spain, many foreign companies rely on communication strategies that work at home, though this might not be enough: Insufficient visibility, a lack of personalization and/or pursuing reactive rather than proactive media relations can lead to misunderstandings. Here, restraint is often interpreted as a lack of transparency. Successful communication therefore requires continuity, clear positioning, and a proactive active media presence.