If expectations are carefully managed, it is a pleasure for the guest to do it if the most common hangouts are avoided, such as the tendency to uninterrupted monologue or the losincha without limits. I will try to mitigate the impact of mistakes without refusing to take advantage of the advantages of being invited.
After all, in the Basque media that have opened their doors to me from time to time, this is what I have been: a grateful guest. It has always been a stimulating and instructive incursion, since in 1983 I started to do ‘things in Basque’ together with works in Spanish in the newspaper DEIA, until in 2023 I stopped doing ‘things in Basque’ together with works in Spanish in EL DIARIO VASCO.
I"m here as a guest, thank you. I"m also a fascinating witness. Considering the situation of the Basque media in the early 80’s and, above all, what the debate about the relationship between the Basque language and the media was and what it was like, seeing how and where they are in 40 years is very fascinating. Seeing even more the path that the (very) short-grazed people are taking and the disappointing clues that are leaving behind the clay feet of those who looked like invincible giants.
I also have an unexpected origin in the periphery of the Basque language that I have been discovering lately, because by interrupting the bridge to the most dynamic areas of the Basque language that the work offered me, I have discovered the extent to which the peripheries beyond the periphery extend, territories that I share with a large number of indifferent and often isolated Basques. It’s better if I’m wrong, but it’s possible that we’re playing in this growing area of disinterest, to a large extent, the reach and growth of almost everything created in Basque.
Something to celebrate
I will confess my envy as I have confessed my fascination. From where I’ve spent most of my working life, from the field of communication in Spanish, the Basque media has done a lot of enviable things, it’s not a legacy they’ve amassed.
There is no need, I would say, to prolong the contribution to the Basque language. Remembering the basics, in addition to guaranteeing certain fundamental rights, mainly, but not exclusively, inherent to the language, they are an extraordinary gym for both the language and the speakers. At the same time, unlike many other media outlets, they have opened wide windows and doors to those who dedicate themselves to the Basque language in all kinds of fields, enriching the community in the flow of displacement.
It is clear from a long time ago that these are breathing spaces that transcend the connection to a certain territory; I am clear to myself, especially since I am in new places. They are Arigune, as well as the umbilical cord that connects us to the nucleus that reminds us who we are.
Although this is their main and distinctive feature, focusing the value of the Basque media generated from the popular initiative only on their fundamental role in the progress of the Basque language could be restrictive. If technology—beginning in dreams, universal knowledge—ever ceases to be a limit or a condition for media languages, it may not be enough. It wouldn’t be the end of the world. Because their portfolio is highly diversified, they have much more to offer.
This envious witness would place the capacity for adaptation and innovation in the first place. I am the source of many other qualities. The contribution of those who have put at the disposal of the Basque media both adequate technological resources for reflection and a solid scientific framework to be able to imagine the future must be mentioned. This constructive penetration is indeed enviable and unusual.
I have also often been impressed by the commitment to quality and creativity, the courage to take risks. The evidence? As long as you want. The resources? The month of October. I would say that the professionalism and commitment shown by the sector in all areas has made it possible to manage these two realities focused on the impact in a concrete way. One of the tradeoffs is, unfortunately, precariousness. In any case, as things are leveling off from below, they can also be considered finished—except for a few—in the big houses, times of prosperity. The new normality for most non-public media workers is narrowing down. If it"s good to get to know each other better and work together, it"s half bad.
I will close the list with a double feature that may be of vital importance in the future. I foresee a promising future for the couple that is made up of closeness and reliability that are closely linked. The way things are and will be, dealing with information nearby is not enough, it can be critical to be integrated in the community, to make decisions in it and with the locals, not in a distant board of directors, according to extraneous interests. Looking ahead, the one who is able to base his relationship with the receivers on proximity, credibility and reliability has a lot to gain.
At this juncture, the achievements included in this list, even those that have been left out, could become competitive advantages, who knows. At worst, equipment to survive. In the meantime, they should be celebrated without any complexity, they are worthy of celebration and, so that the echo of the celebration reaches those who have looked at the Basque media of the popular initiative in a transversal way.
On the way to the top
I"m not telling you anything new, I know. Also that the approach is too simple. I"d rather blame it for simplicity than blame it for the arrogance of the stranger. As soon as I agreed to the invitation, I decided that this should inevitably be the starting point. Two or three moments of my life followed me. Apart from the particular factor, I consider them to be important milestones, all the more important in terms of the foreseeable future.
First and foremost, the creation of the Euskaldunon Newspaper and the process beyond. Personally, it"s exciting. Professionally, enriching. In general, a sample of the best that we have and that we are. Even the reflection of the worst. Since then, there is no doubt that everything is feasible. Once and twice. At the end of 2003, when the cowardly closure of the Newspaper in the Basque Country and the promising birth of the New One took place, I was invited to participate in the conference organized by the Federation of Basque Associations in Zamudio.
I brought back much more than I took home. Among other things, Aitor Zuberogoitia’s proposal, which detailed the formation and compaction of a specific communication framework for the language community, paved the way for me. One didn’t bring the other directly, but at the end of the year I stopped working on the weekly newspaper Abierta in Basque, which El Diario Vasco and El Correo launched in 1999. Impossible, sometimes impossible to act.
I believe that an excellent camp was established at that meeting on the future of the local media. In 2004, the I Basque Journalism was held in Bilbao. The Congress continued to equip the road. At the beginning of the next decade, in June 2012, the conference organized by Topagunea and Tokikom, which had just emerged from it, opened its eyes considerably to the question “What communicative framework does the Basque speaking community need in the 21st century?”.
From there I also returned with a full portfolio, eager to know in which direction the next steps would be taken. The steps that came quickly do not need much explanation: The creation of initiatives, a direct reflection of the will to collaborate; although not completely complete, the guidelines for the collaborative formation of a communication space of its own were already well defined; all kinds of media, public and popular initiatives, were curated with the aim of putting in the same harmony the suggestive proposal of the Basque media house... An elaborate and solid basis, in fact, to start the session for the summit.
Would that be enough?
In the last decade, the Basque media have set up the main camp and, step by step, have continued to climb the slope, continuing the work carried out on previous occasions and increasing the legacy received, as the few certainties that remained in the field of communication have evaporated. Compared to others, I’d say they’re adapting pretty well to the new scenario.
However, a long track is still required to see the summit. It"s still far away. At this point in the climb, it may be that we look back and ask ourselves – with questions, apika – how far away from the top would they be if the Basque media generated from the popular initiative had received more support from public institutions and many citizens at the moment. If the waters have calmed down, keep calm, but it could be healthy to have a clear conversation about the real reasons that have slowed down progress.
It is possible to opt for a more constructive attitude and to think that, when there are clear signs of change both in the dialect and in other areas, the possibilities of progress will increase, giving the Basque media its place once and for all. They will be recognised for their strategic value, whether in the standardisation of Basque or in other fields. And that recognition will have practical consequences. It"s about time. Now is the time, before it"s too late.
The moment is no different, because the changes experienced so far in the field of communication will remain small compared to what awaits us. Joan Maria Corbella, a professor at the Pompeu Fabra University, wrote in an article about the Catalan communication framework: “The main actors of the traditional system will lose their strength in a landscape that ceases to be solid and enters a magmatic state.” In many ways it is possible to imagine without knocking on the door, trumilka, the changes that will enter us to the kitchen. I like the image of the magma that has the ability to burn and cover up what was before because it calls for a quick walk.
The incandescent wave will also reach us, it is reaching us, complicating what was already arduous. Will the skills and resources that the Basque media of popular initiative have brought here be enough to overcome the umpteenth challenge and succeed? I don"t have an answer, I have a feeling. The questions, the bar. If anything is clear, it is clear to me that they are becoming more and more necessary to be able to approach the spaces where things happen and are told, including the land of the indifferents. If you don"t get there, someone else will take the place. If this were to happen, the media would not be the only losers, nor the Basque language itself, because the challenge goes much further. They have the capacity, they have the guarantee of the legacy they have accumulated, but whatever happens, it is better to have the broadest possible company for the expedition that will immerse them in unknown territories, including guests, indifferents and skeptics.