El País is a daily newspaper published in Spain since 1976.

The flagship product of media giant Prisa, it has successfully transitioned from its print-culture to a digital-driven one, by getting rid off one tradition: old newsrooms pace. Now, immediacy defines the mindset of their team: web first.  Print will follow.

In February 2012, the paper’s website unveiled a new design and dropped  the “.com” from its website’s name, to erase any differentiation between platforms. Each section was redesigned according to its readers needs, and all of them are expected to break news -as they happen- on the paper’s digital platforms (web, mobile phones, tablets). The printed edition is set to be a compilation of the best stories covered the day before.

The not-so visible change was a more profound one. El País stopped producing only news and it started producing news and technology.  Editors, reporters and developers created a new Content Management System that could’ve respond efficiently to the particular needs of the newsroom and to the constant challenges imposed by new technologies, as well.  The newsroom also developed Eskup, a social network envisioned to interact with El País readers, which is integrated with the CMS and the new platform (also created by the team of reporters and programmers) of the newspaper.

People were integrated, too. The newsroom opened its doors to web developers and online journalists, who now work with reporters traditionally isolated from the digital operations. In the midst of this revolution, many things (workflows, office spaces,tools ) changed, but one. El País made sure to implement these transformations without compromising the best  values and practices of traditional journalism, which characterized the newspaper’s praised work.

Such praise now comes from much more places around the world, thanks to the Internet.  That is why El País, a leading news organization in Spain, is now positioning itself as “the global newspaper in Spanish.” The newspaper is aiming at audiences anywhere outside Spain but specially in Latin America. To broaden the coverage of that region, a bureau in México City opened this year. The team there manages the website during the nigh time in Spain, in order to secure a 24/7 operation.

El País was the first national newspaper that appeared after the end of the 36-year dictatorship of  Francisco Franco, where  there was no press freedom. The daily’s first issue was published 5 months after Franco’s death, and the newspaper became an instant hit. Soon, El País became the leader newspaper in that european country.