Visibility of old people in mass media. Case studies: El País and ABC, 2007

Abstract

By 2050 Spain will have the largest population of the elderly in the world, and this
year already 20% of the mankind (2 billion people) will have more than 65 years old. Th e
industry is already adapting to reach this market. But is the communication media aware
to this mega-phenomenon of social change in all countries? In this article we shall study
the ways two larger Spanish newspapers handle the news about the aged people. We also
shall study the social role of the journalism and the ethic commitment of the profession.
Yet, we will debate if the environmental journalism, in the university, could help with a
more integrated formation of the future journalists, also sensitizing them to this aspect of
the human ecology that is the aging of the human population