Stop the Presses: El País's Paella of Pundits, Profits and Power Plays

Alright, let's chat about this fascinating drama unfolding in Spain's media world! It's all about Prisa, the company that owns El Pais (think Spain's New York Times) and the country's biggest radio station.

Our main player is Joseph Oughourlian, a French hedge fund manager who's been shaking things up at Prisa for about a decade. He's built up a nearly 30% stake in the company - that's headline-size in the world of media ownership.

But hold the presses! A group of pro-government Spanish businessmen are trying to red-pen Oughourlian right out of the story. They've got a 19% byline in this tale, and they're not happy with the current editorial direction. The plot thickened faster than printer's ink when Oughourlian spiked plans for a new pro-government TV channel. Talk about burying the scoop – that move didn't just ruffle feathers, it started a full-on newsroom revolt!

There's also a French billionaire, Vincent Bollore, whose company is Prisa's second-biggest shareholder. He's like the classified ads section of this story – small but potentially very influential. Both sides are trying to get him to run their version of events.

Meanwhile, Prisa's dealing with a huge debt problem. Oughourlian's trying to rewrite that story while fighting off his critics – now that's multitasking!

All of this is building up to a shareholder meeting in June that promises to deliver even more drama. Both sides are working the phones like desperate cub reporters, trying to get other shareholders to give them the scoop. This isn't just about business - it's raising big questions about foreign ownership of media, the relationship between media and government, and the future of journalism in Spain.

So, keep your eyes peeled and your news alerts on! This story's got more layers than a stack of Sunday papers, and the next edition drops at that June shareholder meeting. Who will write the final headline? Stay tuned to find out!

#activism