I’m not sure there could be a weekly newspaper today that tolerates the same level of reckless speeches once seen in El Papus. Even amid a broader climate of dissatisfaction with political leadership and a polarized society that often lives in echo chambers, laughter as a social relief from the shortcomings of all sides seems scarce in today’s media landscape. This perspective comes from María Iranzo-Cabrera, a professor of journalism who recently examined the arc of El Papus through the years 1973 to 1987 and the factors that led to its demise in 1987. The study situates the magazine within the political transition of Spain and details how economic pressures, not just political pressure, contributed to its end, despite a history marked by fines, investigations, and threats from factions on the far right. The break with El Papus arrived on the afternoon of September 20, 1977, when a briefcase containing an explosive was sent to the building’s doorman. The blast killed the doorman and wounded eighteen people, including Rosa Lorés, the weekly’s pregnant telephone operator, an event that forever altered the magazine’s trajectory.
