The journalism and rhetoric of María Consuelo Reyna: anti-Catalanism in the Valencian press (DOI: 10.2436/20.3008.01.85)

Abstract

The following article analyses the discursive resources and the type of arguments employed in the columns written by María Consuelo Reyna in the daily newspaper Las Provincias from 1978 to 1999. Her columns, which stood out for their aggressive and direct style, greatly influenced the development of the political transition in the País Valencià. During her term as the newspaper’s executive editor, María Consuelo Reyna exerted a great influence on Valencian politics, becoming one of the key figures of the Batalla de Valencia (or Battle of Valencia) a period during the transition marked by an identity crisis. The journalist was also instrumental in Eduardo Zaplana’s eventual rise to power and his presidency of the Generalitat Valenciana.

KEY WORDS:

column writing, País Valencià, political journalism, rhetoric, persuasion, fallacious arguments.