El Imparcial

For other uses, see El Imparcial (disambiguation).
El Imparcial
El Imparcial of November 1, 1950, headline: US Air National Guard Bombs Utuado
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Prensa Insular de Puerto Rico[1]
PublisherN/A
PresidentFerdinand G. Aponte Rivera
EditorAntonio Ayuso Valdivieso (ca. 1933[2] and ca. 1951[3]) and Miguel A. García Méndez (ca. 1975).
Founded1918
Political alignmentConservative
LanguageSpanish
English
Ceased publication28 February 1973[a][4]
HeadquartersSan Juan, Puerto Rico

El Imparcial, founded in 1918, was "an anti-Popular, pro-Independence tabloid"[5] in Puerto Rico. It circulated daily, except Sundays.[6] Its full name was El Imparcial: El diario ilustrado de Puerto Rico.[7]

El Imparcial was given new life in 1933 under the leadership of Antonio Ayuso Valdivieso.[8] The paper Valdivieso bought that year for $2,000 at an auction was described as a "floundering literary periodical" in his obituary; under his leadership it became Puerto Rico's second largest newspaper (after El Mundo). He sought to emulate the New York Daily News.[9] Valdivieso , who had headed the nationalist party prior to acquiring the paper, penned editorials arguing for Puerto Rican independence.[9]

Though a contemporary story in Editor & Publisher described the paper as "frowned upon by intellectuals and ridiculed by reformers," the paper grew to a circulation of 65,000, making it the most widely-read publication on the island. Its reporting on government corruption in the 1940s resulted in an important court precedent on freedom of the press and government transparency.[10] Valdivieso was incapacitated by illness in the early 1960s, and his second wife took over the business management of the paper. In the late 1960s the family brought in new management, which made a number of changes, including softening the pro-independence stance. Circulation dropped significantly. Valdivieso died in 1970.[9]

In the 1970s Miguel A. García Méndez bought the newspaper. The headquarters of the newspaper were destroyed by arson in an act of political sabotage. The paper somewhat recovered and kept running for a short time after that with only one-third of its employees. Eventually, the government expropriated the building where it was located. The last known issue of the paper is dated 28 February 1973 (Año 38, núm. 14,210).[11] However, La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña in New York City has editions of the newspaper spanning many years. [12]

  1. ^ 189 F.2d 1019: PRENSA INSULAR DE PUERTO RICO, Inc. et al. v. PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO. United States Court of Appeals First Circuit. 189 F.2d 1019. No. 4512. June 7, 1951. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  2. ^ Three Centuries of Communications: Media, Technology, and Narratives in Puerto Rico: The 20th Century and the Communications Industry. Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  3. ^ 189 F.2d 1019: PRENSA INSULAR DE PUERTO RICO, Inc. et al. v. PEOPLE OF PUERTO RICO. United States Court of Appeals First Circuit. 189 F.2d 1019. No. 4512. June 7, 1951. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  4. ^ About El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?. Chronicling America. Library of Congress. 2019. Accessed 11 December 2019.
  5. ^ Sidney W. Mintz. Cañamelar: Rural Sugar Plantation Proletariat in, The People of Puerto Rico: A Study in Social Anthropology. University of Illinois Press. 1956. p. 405.
  6. ^ About El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?. United States Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  7. ^ El Impracial: El Diario Ilustrado de Puerto Rico. Worldcat. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  8. ^ Three Centuries of Communications: Media, Technology, and Narratives in Puerto Rico: The 20th Century and the Communications Industry. Archived 2013-12-05 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Antonio Ayuso, Publisher, Dies; Built San Juan's El Imparcial". The New York Times. April 27, 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  10. ^ Shainmark, Lou (November 17, 1951). "Free Press Precedent in Puerto Rico Decision". Editor & Publisher. Duncan McIntosh. p. 66. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
  11. ^ About El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?. United States Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  12. ^ La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña


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