Change at the top of El Mundo, the Spanish newspaper controlled by RCS MediaGroup through the Iberian group Unidad Editorial. “A new stage is opening”, reads the official announcement which confirms the farewell of Pedro Ramirez, up to now director of the magazine, who will be replaced by his deputy Casimiro Garcia-Abadillo.
The publisher - explains a note from the group - "has decided to open a new phase for El Mundo, always safeguarding its independence and objectivity, together with the high quality of the contents", convinced that with this new era the basic conditions are being established for restore the economic and financial balance of the newspaper.
The move comes at a time of profound crisis for the newspaper, both from an economic point of view and from a diffusion point of view. “The results of the last year – comments El Pais, the main Spanish newspaper – weighed on the Italian group RCS, owner of over 96% of Unidad Editorial. In 2011, the company had losses of 243 million euros, which rose to 526 million the following year. Only the injection of liquidity from Italy has allowed the newspaper to survive”.
Ramirez is a prominent figure in Spanish journalism. It was he who founded, in 1989, El Mundo, a newspaper that he directed for 25 years, leading it to become the second newspaper in the country.
