Antonio Franco (journalist)

Antonio Franco Estadella (21 January 1947 – 23 September 2021) was a Spanish journalist. He served two times as editor-in-chief of El Periódico de Catalunya. He also worked as deputy editor of El País and as editor of its Catalan-language edition.

Franco in October 2015

Biography

Antonio Franco Estadella was born on 17 January 1947 in Barcelona,^[1] in a family with origins from Lleida^[2] (his grandfather was Mayor of Lleida and member of Joventut Republicana).^[1][3] After dropping out of a degree in economics, he earned a degree as journalist at the Escuela de Periodismo de la Iglesia in 1968.^[4][5] He was a member of the Anti-Francoist Grup Democràtic de Periodistes [es].^[4] First editor of El Periódico de Catalunya, founded in 1978, he served in that post until 1982.^[6] He was hired by El País in 1982,^[7] helping to launch the Catalan-language edition. He returned to the helm of El Periódico in 1988, retiring in 2006.^[8][9]

Franco used to define himself as a left-wing person, and, in 2014, he embraced Guanyem Barcelona, which he described as "that necessary political and social force capable of transforming reality, from the left".^[10][6]

He died from cancer on 25 September 2021, in Barcelona.^[3]

Awards

• Premio Godó de Periodismo (1995)^[11]
• Premio Ortega y Gasset (1996)^[11]
• Premio Luca de Tena [es] (2000)^[11]
• Creu de Sant Jordi (2006)^[8]
• Premio Antonio Asensio (2007)^[5]