Commemorative stamps. 125 Years of the Madrid Press Association

COMMEMORATIVE STAMPS. 125 YEARS OF THE MADRID PRESS ASSOCIATION.

The Madrid Press Association (APM) was founded at 10 pm on 31 May 1895, in the meeting hall of the cultural association Real Sociedad Económica Matritense de Amigos del País, by 173 journalists, with only one woman among their number: Jesusa Granda, contributor to the newspaper “El Globo”. The founding meeting was attended by the editors of all the newspapers of the time, and most of the era’s leading journalists.

One of the main goals of this association was to defend the freedom of information and the dignity of the journalist.

This is still its goal, in an age when social networks have become the main sources of disinformation and the “fake news” which distorts reality to suit the whims of its creators.

Information has always been power, which means that it must be protected and respected if it is not to become a double-edged sword.

For all these reasons, more than ever, the freedom of expression and information needs a fierce defence, like the one the APM has been fighting every day for 125 years.

A special anniversary like 125 years deserves a stamp like the one Correos is dedicating to this association.

The blue background of the stamp is the colour identifying the Madrid Press Association, and past and present are mixed with illustrations of tape recorders, microphones and mobile phones, all essential tools for these professionals and symbols of the truth that they defend, as what is recorded, whatever the method, persists.

This persistence is one of the main characteristics of these stamps, because this homage to the APM will be recorded forever in a little four-centimetre stamp, which will always remind us that for over a century an institution has fought for the truthfulness of information and the protection of its professionals.