Catalan journalist to launch Factual: a paid for, online only, news website

To warm things up Espada has circulated a video via email, You Tube and other social media sites to explain the newspaper's philosphy that whilst «paper journalism has finished, the role of journalism has not»  (the slogan plays on the Spanish word 'papel', which means both paper and role).

The clip claims that «journalism is not for sale, but you should buy it» and citicises the current state of journalism saying: «the newspaper was born amongst citizens and has ended up living in power», accusing, «lying is not news».

Regardless of its attitudes toward the livelihood of print news organisations, the issue that quality journalism has a monetary value is something emphasised in particular by the site's organisers, with Espada noting: «a journalist's work is not free, as nothing in life is free».

According to the founder, «the real problem at hand is how to create a model that is profitable newspaper business. Until now, the printed newspaper has been profitable, but this formula is exhausted, now we have to reinvent the business», he said.

Espada compared the current state of the newspaper business model to that of the Spanish steel industry years ago, predicting that it would undergo a 'brutal restructuring' in which many people would lose their jobs.

Espada has instead placed his faith in online newspapers, arguing that the future of news is in «digital form, with different presentaion and professionals with new skills» but at the end of the day, still journalism.

The launch comes on the back of the closure of popular Spanish news website Soitu, which shut down after just 22 months in production.  Soitu, which was recognised as being at the forefront of online journalism, similarly believed that the printed word was no longer enough to satisfy readers and looked to incorporate viedos, comments, updates etc. into their website, even developing its own social network.

Soitu's closure, which came after its main backer lost patience and pulled out, confirms that online news is still in its early years and very much dependent on the support and confidence of investors. Perhaps the launch of Factual will have greater success and bring online-only news one step closer to maturity.

Whether or not the model will totally replace printed news, as Espada suggests, is a more is something that remains to be seen.

To see Factual's video, see below.