Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght against disinformationTransparencia y Cuarto Poder en España. Un estudio sobre el valor del acceso a la información para el periodismo y en la lucha contra la desinformación doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | 391 January-June of 2024ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978How to cite this article: Díez Garrido, M. (2024). Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght against disinformation. Doxa Comunicación, 38, pp. 391-415.https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n38a1914María Díez Garrido. Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Valladolid, in addition having accreditation as an Associate Professor by ANECA, 2021. Her research focuses mainly on political communication in the digital realm, as well as transparency, open government, social networks, and disinformation. She is currently a member of the R&D&I project entitled, Flujos de desinformación, polarización y crisis de la intermediación meditica (Disows) [disinformation ows, polarisation, and the crisis of media intervention: disows), at the University of Valencia, which is funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation of the Spanish Government. She has participated in a total of four research projects, as is also involved in the Network of Excellence, also nanced by the Spanish Government. Moreover, Professor Díez Garrido has carried out research stays at the University of Manchester (UK), the University of Lisbon (Portugal), and the Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales de Madrid [the centre for political and constitutional studies of Madrid]. She has also participated in the Observatorio de Participación Ciudadana [citizen participation observatory], which is included among the commitments of the 3rd Open Government Action Plan of Spain.University of Valladolid, Spain[email protected]ORCID: 0000-0002-5430-7708is content is published under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. International License CC BY-NC 4.0Received: 30/06/2023 - Accepted: 06/09/2023 - Early access: 05/10/2023 - Published: 01/01/2024Recibido: 30/06/2023 - Aceptado: 06/09/2023 - En edición: 05/10/2023 - Publicado: 01/01/2024Abstract:Since the enactment of Law 19/2013 in Spain, which addressed the issues of transparency, access to public information, and good governance, journalism has benetted from the tools oered by this law in several ways. Nevertheless, few studies have addressed the relationship between transparency and journalism. e aim of this research is twofold: to reveal whether the current state of transparency in Spain is adequate for carrying out journalistic activity; and to discover the usefulness of these tools in practicing data journalism and ghting against disinformation. is study also attempts to uncover the most pressing needs of journalists regarding possible changes in regulations. As such, a Delphi methodology was used involving assessments made by ten experts in the eld, both from academia and the professional Resumen:Desde que se aprobó en España la Ley 19/2013 de transparencia, ac-ceso a la información pública y buen gobierno, el periodismo ha apro-vechado las herramientas que esta norma ofrece de diversas maneras. Sin embargo, existen escasos estudios que aborden la relación entre la transparencia y el periodismo. Esta investigación aspira a conocer si el estado actual de la transparencia en España es adecuado para el ejerci-cio del periodismo, así como a descubrir la utilidad de estas herramien-tas en el ejercicio del Periodismo de Datos y en la lucha contra la desin-formación. Asimismo, busca conocer las principales necesidades de los periodistas en una posible reforma de la normativa. Para ello, se ha ela-borado una metodología Delphi, que ha contado con las valoraciones de diez especialistas en la materia, tanto desde el punto de vista acadé-

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392 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicación1. IntroductionStudies have pointed out that transparency fulls the purpose of keeping citizens informed, which enables them to make responsible decisions. e publication of open data and institutional information, which is common in states that promote transparency, oers a strong incentive for its reuse, whether by citizens or professionals.Transparency is seen as the archetype of online communication, as information is diused by public institutions and received by consumers, who become prosumers of this content and redistribute the information, thereby contributing to the creation of knowledge (Molina Rodríguez Navas et al, 2021). erefore, it is highly relevant to address this information ow from the perspective of Communication Studies.While transparency has become one of the pillars of political discourse in Spain (Curto-Rodríguez, 2020), journalism has proved to be one of the sectors most interested in open data policies. us, new journalistic narratives have emerged thanks to the proliferation of open data in recent years (Brolcháin et al., 2017).Nevertheless, there is a lack of research in this area, and there has been growing interest by the media in recent years with regard to applying open and accountable media policies, (Masullo et al., 2021; Córdoba-Cabús and García-Borrego, 2021), in addition to journalistic production routines (Vu and Saldaña, 2021). Despite this situation, scholars have hardly focused on the ways in which the media use the information published on data and transparency portals of public institutions. As such, there is a need to investigate the use of transparency tools from a journalistic perspective.e overall objective of this research is to reveal the needs of journalists in Spain in terms of transparency. e specic objectives are as follows:O1. Discover whether the current state of transparency is appropriate for the practice of journalism in Spain.O2. Study possible improvements in active publicity and access to information that would benet journalists.O3. Reveal the role played by the Consejo de Transparencia y Buen Gobierno [Council for Transparency and Good Governance] in this regard, and how its independence can be enhanced in order to benet journalism.O4. Understand the possible relationship between transparency and the ght against disinformation.O5. Discover whether the transparency has evolved since the Covid-19 pandemic.realm, who might be referred to as specialised journalists. Two waves of questionnaires were conducted, the rst of which focused on obtaining relevant information regarding the issue, while the second attempted to reach a consensus among the experts. e results not only show that regulatory reform is needed, but that transparency is highly useful for verifying and contrasting hoaxes. Likewise, it appears that journalists need further training in the area of transparency as well.Keywords: Transparency; access to information; journalism; data journalism; disinformation; fact-checking.mico, como del profesional, es decir, periodistas especializados. Se han llevado a cabo dos rondas de cuestionarios, la primera, para conseguir información relevante sobre esta temtica, y la segunda, para lograr un consenso entre las personas especialistas. Los resultados evidencian la necesidad de reformar la normativa y la utilidad de la transparencia para vericar y contrastar bulos. Asimismo, resulta necesario formar a los periodistas en transparencia.Palabras clave: Transparencia; acceso a la información; periodismo; periodismo de da-tos; desinformación; fact-checking.
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 393To meet these objectives, the article begins with a theoretical approach to transparency, its development in Spain, and its possible application to journalism. Next, we will explain the methodology used to determine the adequacy of transparency in Spain for the journalistic profession. Afterward, the results will be presented, followed by a discussion of the conclusions reached in the article.2. eoretical framework2.1. A decade of transparency in SpainBefore the enactment of Law 19/2013 regarding issues of transparency, access to public information, and good governance, there had been widespread criticism in academia and journalism (Sánchez de Diego, 2010; Cabra, 2012; Alonso Timón, 2012), in relation to the lack of regulations governing access to information in Spain. is law addressed both active publicity (the publication of information on websites of mandated organisations), as well as passive transparency (the right of access to information), and it also initiated the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, among other matters. However, the delay did not necessarily imply that the law was comprehensive. us, it was widely criticised due to the unfullled expectations it had created. Furthermore, nearly a decade after its enactment, this law has hardly been revised and, as pointed out by Sierra (2022), there is a widespread perception that some key aspects of the law need to be reformed and strengthened. In fact, a group of experts has been organised to discuss a possible reform of the Transparency Law as part of the IV Plan de Gobierno Abierto [4th Open Government Plan]. So far, this group has met on four separate occasions1.Undoubtedly, one of the issues that received the most negative assessments was the failure to recognise access to information as a fundamental right (Cotino, 2014; Rollnart Liern, 2013). In addition to this shortcoming, criticism has also been directed at the paucity of obligations regarding active publicity, the numerous limitations placed on requesting information, the barriers to making a request (one must have an electronic ID card or digital certicate), as well as the lack of independence of the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, which depends on the Ministry of Finance and Civil Service, among other issues.Nor should it be forgotten that Title II of the legislation regulates Good Governance, which is one of the pillars of the law. Accordingly, Sierra Rodríguez (2022) asserts that this aspect should have been addressed in other regulations. In this part of the law, there are very specic details on infractions and sanctions in this regard. However, as pointed out by the same author, it would be useful for this part of the law to specify the basic principles of information transparency. He also proposes regulating the government’s relationship with the media. 1 Information available at: https://transparencia.gob.es/transparencia/transparencia_Home/index/Gobierno-abierto/seguimientoIVPlanGA/seguimiento_C1/1-3-3-Reuniones-preparatorias.html

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394 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónus, due to the media’s role as a watchdog of public power, Sierra Rodríguez (2018: 50) argues that the following aspects, or principles, should be added to the regulations: –Open hearings before the media. –Neutrality and equality of information. –Transparency of data sources. –Predictability of information. –Transparency regarding media accreditation and access. –Accuracy in the graphic display of data magnitudes.ese and other aspects would regulate the government’s relationship with journalists and ensure that communication between the two blocks is more transparent. is proposal reects the inseparable relationship between transparency and journalism, which is specically addressed by this article.Finally, the status of open data must also be mentioned. As pointed out by García-García and Curto-Rodríguez (2018), public institutions have disseminated information mainly through their own websites, in addition to their transparency and open data portals, which have dierent characteristics. In the present research, the author has placed considerable importance on the two latter outlets, which are described as follows: –Transparency portals: websites in which relevant information about institutions is disclosed in order to make them more accountable to the public. –Open data portals: websites in which datasets on a wide range of topics are published in reusable formats, in order for them to be reutilised by others.Although open data does not necessarily lead to greater transparency, it creates public value, increases the eciency of democratic states, and strengthens decision-making, as pointed out by Park and Gil-García (2021). Open data is not a specic provision of the Spanish legal system, as stated by Cerrillo (2014). Nevertheless, this author points out that “its content is perfectly suited to both the principles of electronic administration and basic regulations regarding transparency, access, and reuse of public information” (Cerrillo, 2014:74).2.2. e role of journalists in transparencye enactment of legislation regarding access to information and the development of open data have contributed to the development of certain journalistic disciplines. us, Brolcháin et al. (2017) claim that new narratives have emerged thanks to the proliferation of open data over the last decade. Undoubtedly, data journalism has been one of the great beneciaries of this change, as it relies specically on large datasets (Rogers, 2012).e rise of the transparency culture, the activism related to open data that has grown in recent years, and practices related to the Big Data era have inuenced the way investigative journalism is perceived, which has evolved toward data journalism, as noted by La Rosa and Sandoval-Martín (2016). Moreover, data journalism is considered a professional specialisation that has evolved from both precision Journalism (Meyer, 1991) and computer-aided Journalism (Knight, 2015).
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 395Flores Vivar and Salinas Aguilar (2013) point out that data journalism is a growing specialisation closely linked to investigative journalism. ese new investigative journalists use public data available on the Internet as a source of information, which is fostering the evolution of this unique type of reporting:“(...) We see the data journalist as an emerging professional prole, whose work environment is mainly based on the construction of increasingly novel visualisations that combine content [of information] with technology, which have multiple applications in the various types of specialised journalism that exist today” (Flores Vivar and Salinas Aguilar, 2013: 16).erefore, data journalism is considered an area of specialisation which, in addition to providing quality information in an innovative way, is also a useful tool for combating the current ecosystem of fake news, according to Saavedra et al (2020).In any case, data journalism is democratising information by making it easier to read (Rogers, 2014). As such, data journalism compiles huge sets of data that are usually complex, analyses them, and creates news items with dierent types of visualisations (infographics, maps, graphs, etc.), which bring this information closer to citizens in a way that is easier to understand (Cushion et al, 2016). us, to make data journalism possible, data must be available:“is process in its base requires data to be generated. In this context, the attention is turned towards Open Data and the major Open Data producers – Governments. Data journalism starts by exploring datasets on Open Data platforms. e data search and discovery stage is followed by the stage of ltering where only relevant data is elicited and then visualized. Finally, when the data is presented in an understandable way, the relevant story is built around the data. is can be achieved by elaborating about the data content in itself as well as identifying anomalies and analysing trends” (Brolcháin et al, 2017: 49).Cortés et al (2018), who investigated the media outlets known as ProPública and Civio, highlighted the importance of transparency and access to information in making data journalism possible. ey also pointed out the need for greater accessibility and the publication of information in appropriate formats. In this work, the authors emphasised that this discipline helps create a more transparent society.Transparency is also an essential component in ghting disinformation, as citizens rely on mediated information they receive through various channels to make decisions, so it is important for this ow to be translucent (omson et al, 2020). us, fact-checkers should also take advantage of the transparency of public institutions in order to verify or refute the hoaxes that circulate on the Internet. In fact, two of the most important fact-checking organisations in Spain, Maldita and Newtral, produce content that disseminates a culture of transparency. For example, Maldita recently published content related to journalistic items from other media, made possible by the Transparency Law2, while Newtral has a tool called Transparentia, which provides information on the salaries of Spanish politicians3. In spite of this situation, however, the relationship between the transparency of organisations and disinformation has received scarce attention in scientic literature.e societal role of journalists as watchdogs of economic and political elites should also be pointed out. is is a duty that is highly valued by the professionals themselves, as indicated by Berganza et al. (2017), in which the authors explored the 2 Information available at: https://maldita.es/malditodato/20211228/10-informaciones-transparencia-otros-medios-2021/ 3 Information available at: https://transparentia.newtral.es/buscador

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396 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónperception of Spanish journalists regarding their role in this scenario. According to Palau Sampío and López García (2022), there is currently a crisis in the communication system in which the media do not always full their social responsibility, which hinders the democratic role of journalists as watchdogs of power. erefore, it is important to analyse the value of transparency in carrying out this scrutinising examination of power.3. MethodologyAs stated above, this article aims to explore the relationship between transparency and journalism, its possible uses, and the adequacy of the regulatory framework for the current journalistic profession. As it involves an exploratory study, a number of research questions have been posed as follows:Q1. Is the current state of transparency in Spain adequate for journalism?Q2. Should active publicity and access to information for journalists be improved? How?Q3. How does the Council for Transparency and Good Governance benet journalists, and what changes do you believe it should make?Q4. Is transparency useful in the ght against disinformation? Q5. Has the Covid-19 pandemic led to any progress for transparency?To answer the questions above, a qualitative research technique was chosen, specically the Delphi method (Gaitán Moya and Piñuel Raigada, 2010; López-Gómez, 2018; Landeta, Barrutia and Lertxundi, 2011) which, in this case, aims to reach a consensus among the proposals made by the experts surveyed through rounds of questionnaires. is method is very useful when there is insucient information on a subject, and when there is a desire to benet from the contributions of interviewees, among other reasons (Cabero and Infante, 2014). Furthermore, the anonymity of this technique enables the elimination of the “opinion leader eect” (Astigarraga, 2003), which sometimes occurs in focus groups. e methodology used was comprised of the following stages:1. Denition of the problem.2. Selection of a panel of experts.3. Conducting rounds of questionnaires.4. Exploitation of the resultsFirstly, a theoretical approach was taken toward the object of study, which is the usefulness of transparency in the practice of journalism. is allowed the author to identify the main interests involved in the study and to pose the appropriate objectives and research questions, which later helped in drafting the questionnaires.Secondly, a panel of experts was selected, to whom the questionnaires were sent. e rst list consisted of 23 academics from the elds of Communication, Law and Political Science, who were concurrently working for Spanish public universities, which had previously addressed the subject under study. Also selected were journalists working for media where access to information and the publication of open data were essential to their work, such as data journalists and fact-checkers, among others. In the
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 397selection process, an attempt was made to include professionals from mainstream as well as independent media. In the end, twelve experts responded (Table 1). Of these, seven were university professors and ve were information professionals, which is considered a suitable distribution that oers balanced views from two perspectives. However, the second questionnaire was not answered by all twelve people, but by ten, as two people failed to answer the second survey. Nevertheless, the minimum of seven respondents was reached, as established by Landeta (1999).Table 1. Panel of experts who participated in the study (Phase 1)NameOccupationInstitution or Media OutletAinara Larrondo UretaProfessorUniversidad del País VascoFrancisco Javier Paniagua RojanoProfessorUniversidad de MálagaIgnacio CriadoProfessorUniversidad Autónoma de MadridJesús GarcíaProfessorUniversidad de OviedoJuan Luis Manfredi-SánchezProfessorUniversidad de Castilla La ManchaPilar Beltrán OrenesProfessorUniversidad Rey Juan CarlosRaúl MagallónProfessorUniversidad Carlos IIIDarío OjedaJournalistEl CondencialMaría Blanco NavarroJournalistNewtralMiguel Ángel GavilanesJournalistCivioPaula GuisadoJournalistRTVE.esSergio Sangiao JournalistMaldita.es (Maldito Dato)Source: created by the authorSimultaneous to selecting the panel of experts, the rst questionnaire was drawn up with a total of 25 questions, mostly open-ended, with the aim of obtaining the most relevant information on each topic. e questionnaire was carried out on the EU Survey website, which uses open source software, and was sent by email to the selected persons. e rst wave of

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398 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónquestionnaires was conducted between 12 and 31 of May, 20224. is questionnaire (available in the appendix of this article) was divided into the following thematic sections: –Assessment of the usefulness of transparency for journalism and the perception of its current status. –e usefulness of active publicity and journalism’s right to access information, and possible improvements in this area. –Inner workings of the Council for Transparency and Good Governance. –e way in which transparency has evolved since the pandemic.Once the responses of the twelve experts had been received, the second questionnaire was drawn up, the aim of which was to reach a consensus among the experts and check the level of agreement with the answers that had been given. In this regard, using the topic structure of the rst questionnaire, a report was drafted with a total of 47 statements in which the experts had to evaluate their level of agreement with the statements made based on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “I completely disagree”, and 5 meaning “I completely agree”. is second questionnaire, which is available in the appendix of this research, was also carried out on the EU Survey website and sent out by email as well. e second wave was conducted between 16 June and 22 July, 2022.Finally, the results obtained from both waves were processed and documented in a report, which is discussed in the following section. To this end, the statements for which agreement was reached with an average score of 3.5 or higher were taken into account, as this level was considered sucient, being one point higher than the halfway mark of the maximum possible score for each statement. Likewise, these statements have been complemented by those made by the experts in the rst questionnaire, which have added qualitative richness to the results.4. Results of the Delphi study4.1. Assessment of the usefulness of transparency and the perception of its current statuse rst part of both questionnaires consisted of a general assessment of the usefulness of transparency for the practice of journalism, as well as its current status. e experts did not agree with the statement that the degree of transparency has improved since the enactment of the Transparency Law, as the average score was low (3.40). However, the rst questionnaire asked for the legislation to be rated from 1 to 10, which was given a 7, so the results are somewhat contradictory. As for this regulation, the experts consider that it has shortcomings for the journalistic profession (3.9). us, it can be assumed that the experts have a positive view of the fact that there are regulations, although they generally believe there is room for improvement. One person stated that “there is a lack of commitment to compliance by organisations, companies, and institutions” and that “uploading a PDF document to the web is not necessarily being transparent”. Moreover, with regard to journalists, it was 4 One of the experts responded to the survey a few days after the deadline due to a problem in making contact with this person. However, in spite of the delay, the interviewee’s input was included due the usefulness of the responses and the quality of the answers. us, the respondent’s answers were taken into account in the rst report, and in the preparation of the second questionnaire as well.
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 399stated that “they do not make the greatest possible use of the opportunities available (...) ere is a lack of knowledge of the legislation” (Respondent 11).As might be expected, the report concludes that transparency oers useful tools for journalists today (4), yet the question that arises is, what is the media’s role in this regard? For the experts, it was very clear (4.5) that media outlets should promote a culture of transparency and denounce information obscurity. ere was also strong agreement on the media’s obligation to monitor institutions through transparency. Along these lines, the experts armed that journalists have a responsibility to scrutinise public data in order to contribute to a more democratic and transparent society (4.5). According to the interviewees, the media also have an educational role to play, as they have a duty to make the data published by the institutions easier to understand (4.3).“In addition to using data, they should also defend it and denounce when public institutions try to hinder the exercise of this right. If possible, they should be beneciaries as well as watchdogs” (Respondent 7).Despite the options available at the moment, the media do not take full advantage of the data published by institutions, according to the respondents (3.6). “I think the mainstream media could make more use of transparency tools”. Reasons for not doing so may include the considerable learning curve involved in harnessing the law, and the fact that the results are often disappointing. Moreover, in most cases the results are achieved in the long-term, which is dicult to reconcile with current events in the short-term” (Respondent 12).In any case, the participants pointed out that all types of journalism can be enhanced by transparency (3.8). On this point, the author wanted to know which disciplines have made the most use of these tools, and it appears that data journalism is among those that have exploited them to the greatest extent (3.5). It was also stated that transparency enables news reporting of previously unknown topics and visualisations (3.7), and is especially useful for veriers and fact-checkers (4.1).However, there is a lack of training in this area. According to the interviewees, the media should promote training for journalists in the subject of transparency (4.3). In their opinion, they should be trained in the following areas: –Basic knowledge of the regulations and opportunities oered by this legislation (Interviewees 6, 7, and 12). –Specic technical training on handling large volumes of data for open data portals, such as the use of advanced spreadsheets (SQL, CSV transformations, JSON, etc.) (Interviewee 6). –Deontology and data protection (Interviewee 11). –Knowledge of conicts of interest and public integrity (Interviewee 9). –e use of transparency in practical cases (Interviewees 12 and 8). –Comparison with other countries and knowledge of each territory (Interviewee 8). –eoretical knowledge on the importance of transparency (Interviewee 2).Finally, the usefulness of transparency in the ght against disinformation was assessed as well. Participants stated that transparency helps reduce disinformation (4.1), and it provides sources with which to contrast fake news (3.8). However,
400 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicacióntransparency is not an instant antidote to disinformation, as literacy among citizens is necessary as well. is last statement was one of the most strongly supported in the entire questionnaire, with an average score of 4.6.Regarding the positive inuence of transparency in the ght against disinformation, the experts oered dierent assessments in the rst questionnaire. Essentially, it was pointed out that transparency serves to “counterbalance information that distorts reality” (Respondent 1), as “it is more dicult to lie or manipulate if the data that refutes a statement are at hand and can be compared at the moment when a controversy arises” (Respondent 12). erefore, access to information is “essential in order to reduce the noise generated by a lack of information” (Respondent 10), because “the less information available, the more blurry it is, and the easier it is for hoaxes to slither in and become credible” (Respondent 3).However, as mentioned above, this is not enough to combat disinformation, because “the information needs to be shaped” (Respondent 11), and “an eort” must be made by citizens as well (Respondent 6), in terms of the time spent reading and the desire to understand media content. Specically, disinformation “is founded on the lack of eort by the receiver and, as a result, it is disseminated by sharing through networks and messaging services” (Respondent 6). In addition, for transparency to be eective in the ght against fake news, the organisations and companies that disseminate information must have good intentions (Respondent 11). us, if an organisation circulates false information, transparency will not be useful in countering the hoax, or could even lead to further deception.Table 2. Assessment of the statements made by the experts in the rst sectionStatementLevel of Agreemente degree of transparency has improved since the enactment of the Transparency Law3.40Transparency oers useful tools for journalists today4.00e transparency law has several shortcomings for the practice of journalism3.90e media should promote a culture of transparency and denounce information obscurity4.50e media should monitor institutions using transparency tools4.50Journalists should monitor public data in order to help create a more democratic and transparent society4.50Media outlets should make it easier to understand the data published by institutions 4.30e media do not take full advantage of the opportunities oered by transparency3.60All types of journalism can be enhanced by transparency3.80Data journalism is the discipline that has beneted the most from transparency3.50
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 401Transparency enables reporting of previously unknown topics and visualisations 3.70Transparency is especially useful for veriers and fact-checkers4.10e media should promote training for journalists in transparency4.30Transparency helps reduce disinformation4.10Transparency provides sources with which to contrast disinformation3.80Transparency is not an instant antidote to disinformation, as public literacy is also needed4.60Source: created by the author4.2. e usefulness of active publicity, journalism’s right to access information, and possible improvementse second part of the questionnaire consisted of an assessment of the regulations, as well as recommendations for their improvement, with the aim of ensuring that these reforms will have a positive impact on the work of journalists. As noted in the theoretical framework, transparency can be divided into active transparency (information voluntarily disseminated by institutions on their websites), and passive transparency (that which comes from requests for information). Likewise, this part of the questionnaire was further divided into these two sections.Firstly, the experts who participated in the study agreed that the state of active publicity in Spain could be improved (4.3), along with the extent of open data (4.3). With regard to open data, they agreed that there is a lack of standardisation in its quality (3.9). Furthermore, the present study also highlights the need for the Transparency Law to provide regulations for open data (4.3), which is currently not the case.Regarding the issue of open data, one expert pointed out in the rst questionnaire that dierences exist. In some cases, the publication of open data is complete and up-to-date (e.g. Castilla y León), yet in others it is not (Respondent 5).Several improvements were suggested, namely regarding active publicity and open data, as follows: the updating of information should be improved (4.6); more information should be published on these web portals (4.2); the information published needs to be more reusable (4); the search engines of the web portals need to be further developed (3.9) and should oer more data visualisations (4); the language used in portals should be clearer (4.1); and there should be monitoring of open data to determine its impact and improve its quality (4.4). Secondly, the experts assessed the current state of the right to access information in Spain. ey noted that the current system of information requests could be improved (4.5). e changes they proposed are as follows: fewer limits should be imposed on the right to access information (3.9); the requirement to have an electronic ID or digital certicate to request information should be eliminated (4.2); response times for requests should be shortened (4.3); there should be no administrative silence (4.3); identication should not be required to make a request for information (3.7); and the response time should depend on whether or not prior development is required (3.5).
402 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónAs can be seen, there was somewhat less agreement, or less importance, given to the last proposals made for improving the regulations. Moreover, there was no agreement on whether or not the deadline should be approximately 15 working days (3.4). ere was also disagreement on the statement that journalists should have a channel for information requests that ts into their work schedule. is proposal only received an average score of 2.7, the lowest in the survey.Table 3. Assessment of the statements made by the experts in the second sectionStatementLevel of Agreement e degree of active publicity in Spain could be improved4.30e extent of open data can be improved4.30ere is a lack of standardisation regarding the quality of open data3.90e Transparency Law should also include the regulation of open data4.30e updating of information should be improved4.60More information should be published on these web portals4.20e information published needs to be more reusable4.00e search engines of the web portals need to be further developed3.90Web portals need to oer more data visualisations4.00e language used on the web portals needs to be clearer4.10ere should be monitoring of open data to determine its impact and improve its quality4.40e current system of information requests can be improved4.50Fewer limits should be imposed on the right to access information3.90e requirement to have an electronic ID or digital certicate to request information should be removed4.20Response times for requests should be shortened4.30ere should be no administrative silence4.00Identication should not be required for making an information request3.70Journalists should have a channel for information requests that ts into their work schedule2.70Response times should depend on whether or not prior development is needed3.50e maximum response time should be approximately 15 working days3.40Source: created by the author
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 4034.3. e inner workings of the Council for Transparency and Good Governance e third part of the study was aimed at assessing the work of the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, and specically at examining whether its work has had an impact on the practice of journalism in Spain. us, some of the experts pointed out that the CTGG makes the journalist’s job easier, yet the average score obtained in the questionnaire was not high enough (3.2), as the only statements considered for this study were those with a score of 3.5 or higher. Nevertheless, in the rst questionnaire some of the respondents pointed out that the CTGG has aided the work of journalists by taking legal action against public administrations to make certain data public, as happened with RTVE (Respondent 2), which is of great interest to this study and has been mentioned as a result. Along the same lines, the respondents stated that the CTGG helps journalists (3.5) by promoting greater openness of institutions and resolving cases in which requests for information are refused. Regarding the inner workings of the CTGG, there was more support for the statement that this body should have the authority to give sanctions in order to promote the transparency of public institutions (4.1). ey also stated that the CTGG’s duties should be expanded (4.1). In this regard, the experts proposed that it should have the authority to carry out inspections in confronting government claims of having no information, in those cases in which “the petitioner believes that they do have the information” (Respondent 3). According to another respondent, “ere was a previous case in which a public administration lied to the CTGG about the existence of information, and there were no consequences” (Respondent 8).Furthermore, in the general opinion of the experts, the CTGG should have a larger budget (4). Regarding the impartiality of the Council, they agreed that it should not be dependent on the Ministry of Finance and should have more autonomy (3.8). In spite of this, some experts cast doubt on the options available, while others proposed changes in this regard:“It should have full autonomy outside the government’s organisation chart, similar to the Ombudsman, for example, with its head appointed by the Spanish Parliament. Under no circumstances should it be appointed by the Council of Ministers at the request of the Ministry of Finance. It might even be appropriate for it to be assigned to the Ombudsman’s oce, or for the head of the CTGG to be appointed at the same time as the Ombudsman him or herself, through a similar procedure” (Respondent 6).Currently, the president of the CTGG is appointed for a maximum term of ve years by Royal Decree, at the proposal of the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Administration, following a hearing of the proposed candidate before the corresponding Commission of the Congress of Deputies. e Congress must endorse the appointment of the proposed candidate within a period of one month through the authorised committee, which requires an absolute majority (Article 37.1 of the Transparency Act).In the opinion of the experts, improvements in the inner workings of the CTGG would have a positive impact on journalists (4).
404 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónTable 4. Assessment of the statements made by the experts in the third sectionStatementLevel of agreemente Council for Transparency and Good Governance assists the work of journalists3.20e CTGG helps journalists by promoting greater openness of institutions and resolving cases involving the denial of requests for information3.50e CTGG must have the authority to give sanctions in order to promote institutional transparency4.10e CTGG should not be dependent on the Ministry of Finance and should have greater autonomy3.80e CTGG should receive more funding4.00e CTGG’s duties should be expanded4.10Improvements in the operations of the CTGG would have a positive impact on journalists4.00Source: created by the author4.4. e evolution of transparency since the pandemice last part of the survey posed some questions regarding the inuence of the Covid-19 pandemic on transparency. e experts stated that the shutdown of requests for information during the rst state of alarm, due to a regulation that suspended requests for information and reduced them to administrative formalities, hindered the work of journalists (4.1), and there were also problems involving a lack of information related to public bidding (4.2). “[e pandemic] has provided a black hole for institutions to return to ambiguity” (Respondent 10).Likewise, one respondent mentioned the dierences between public institutions throughout the pandemic: “I think during the pandemic we saw that some institutions were aware of transparency, such as the Regional Government of Castilla y León, which acted in a more transparent way. On the other hand, institutions that persisted with a more conventional view of transparency, such as the Ministry of Health itself, did not act in the same way. I think the pandemic has allowed us to see more clearly the philosophy of each administration regarding transparency” (Respondent 3).In terms of what has been learned from this health crisis, the consciousness of institutions regarding the need for transparency has not been raised (3.7). Journalists, on the other hand, have become more aware of the transparency tools available to them since the start of the pandemic (3.8). Nevertheless, it should be noted that these two statements did not receive unanimous support.
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 405Table 5. Assessment of the statements made by the experts in the fourth sectionStatementLevel of agreemente suspension of requests for information during the rst state of emergency impeded the work of journalists4.10ere has been a lack of transparency in terms of journalists’ access to information regarding public bidding4.20Despite everything that occurred during the pandemic, public institutions have not become more conscious of the need for transparency 3.70Since the pandemic, journalists have become more aware of the transparency tools available to them3.80Source: created by the author5. Conclusionsis research was carried out using a Delphi methodology. is made it possible to achieve the main objective of the study, which was to discover the needs of journalists with regard to transparency in Spain, as well as to propose possible improvements in this area. e following conclusions have been reached as a result of answering the research questions posed.Firstly, it has been revealed that the current degree of transparency in Spain is not adequate for the practice of journalism. Law 19/2013, which addresses issues of transparency, access to information, and good governance has several shortcomings for journalists. Media professionals have a responsibility to monitor and audit public representatives and, to do so, regulations need to be strengthened and updated to make this work possible. Journalists must also be trained in the opportunities oered by transparency and learn how to use the related tools, how to manage databases, how to use programmes for calculation and statistics, and how to work in accordance with data protection, among other issues. As such, there must be an eort by institutions to improve regulations, and by journalists to learn how to navigate through these rules, as well as to monitor those in power by using such instruments.Secondly, it has been revealed that several advances have taken place that should be incorporated into current regulations. To begin with, open data should be included in the Transparency Law. Moreover, with regard to the publication of information by institutions, there should be improvements in the updating process, the quantity of information, reuse of data, search engines, visualisation of information, and the language used on their web portals. is should also be accompanied by an impact assessment. In terms of requests for information, some of the recommendations mentioned are as follows: fewer limits should be imposed on the right to access; the requirement to have an electronic ID card or digital certicate should be removed; response times should be shortened; and administrative silence should be eliminated.irdly, it has been concluded that proper functioning of the Council for Transparency and Good Governance could have a positive impact on the practice of journalism, as it would allow organisations to have greater control over their compliance
406 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónwith the rules. Promoting transparency and resolving cases in which information requests are denied would help journalists as well, yet the current situation needs to be improved, as it is far from ideal. In this regard, it would be useful to increase the CTGG’s budget and broaden its authority to give sanctions and carry out inspections. e nal point of the third conclusion is that the Council should not be dependent on the Ministry of Finance, and it should have greater autonomy as well.Fourthly, transparency oers eective tools in the ght against disinformation, which includes access to sources for the purpose of contrasting fake news. However, this is not enough. Citizen eorts are also required, along with an endeavour by institutions to publish more information. Public literacy is also essential in preventing the spread of fake news.Fifthly, the pandemic has highlighted the need for further progress in transparency in Spain. During the health crisis, the work of journalists was impeded, especially with the suspension of requests for information during the rst state of emergency, and journalists have experienced a deciency of information regarding public bidding as well. However, the experts who participated in the study stated that since the pandemic began, journalists have become more aware of the transparency tools available to them.In short, transparency is highly useful for journalists, yet it must continue to improve in order not to fall behind, so that its full potential can be harnessed. Nearly a decade has passed since the Transparency Law was enacted. Nevertheless, even at the time it was introduced, certain shortcomings were already visible. Finally, as journalists play an indispensable role in society and must be trained in the area of transparency, such preparation will allow them to promote greater lucidity in the democratic system, which is currently threatened by a climate of disinformation. 6. Acknowledgementsis research was made possible thanks to the participation and valuable contribution of the experts to the Delphi study, to whom the author is eternally grateful. e English translation of the article has been carried out by Charles Arthur, whose diligent work is greatly appreciated as well.is article has been developed within the framework of the R&D&I project entitled, “Flujos de desinformación, polarización y crisis de la intermediación meditica (Disows)” [the ow of disinformation, polarisation, and the crisis of media intervention (disows)] (PID2020-113574RB-I00), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the period of 2021-2023.7. Conict of intereste author declares that there is no conict of interest related to this article.8. Bibliographic referencesAlonso Timón, A. J. (2012). El principio de transparencia como elemento vertebrador del Estado Social y Democrático de Derecho. Asamblea: Revista parlamentaria de la Asamblea de Madrid, (27), 27-62.
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 407Berganza, R., Lavín, E., y Piñeiro Naval, V. (2017). La percepción de los periodistas españoles acerca de sus roles profesionales. Comunicar, 25(51), 83–92.Brolcháin, N. Ó., Porwol, L., Ojo, A., Wagner, T., Lopez, E. T., y Karstens, E. (2017). Extending Open Data Platforms with Storytelling Features. Proceedings of the 18th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research - Dg.o ’17. https://doi.org/10.1145/3085228.3085283 Cabero Almenara, J., y Infante, A. (2014). Empleo del método Delphi y su empleo en la investigación. EDUTEC. Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, 48. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2014.48.187 Cabra, M. (2012). Un cambio para el periodismo: la ley de transparencia. Cuadernos de periodistas: revista de la Asociación de la Prensa de Madrid, (25), 69-75. Cerrillo, A. (2014). Los principios de los datos abiertos en la legislación española. IDP: revista de Internet, derecho y política= revista d’Internet, dret i política, (19), 62-77.Córdoba-Cabús, A., y García-Borrego, M. (2021). Evaluación de la transparencia en el periodismo de datos de referencia. Icono 14, 19(2), 364–387. https://doi.org/10.7195/ri14.v19i2.1648Cushion, S., Lewis, J., y Callaghan, R. (2016). Data Journalism, Impartiality and Statistical Claims. Journalism Practice, 0(0), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2016.1256789 Flores Vivar, J., y Salinas Aguilar, C. (2013). El periodismo de datos como especialización de las organizaciones de noticias en Internet. Correspondencias & Anlisis,(3), 15-34.Knight, M. (2015). Data journalism in the UK: A preliminary analysis of form and content. Journal of Media practice, 16(1), 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682753.2015.1015801 La Rosa, L., y Sandoval-Martín, T. (2016). La insuciencia de la Ley de Transparencia para el ejercicio del Periodismo de datos en España. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, (71), 1208–1229. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2016-1142Landeta, J. (1999). El método Delphi: una técnica de previsión para la incertidumbre. Barcelona: Ariel.Landeta, J., Barrutia, J., y Lertxundi, A. (2011). Hybrid Delphi: A methodology to facilitate contribution from experts in professional contexts. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 78(9), 1629-1641. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2011.03.009 López-Gómez, E. (2018). El método Delphi en la investigación actual en educación: una revisión teórica y metodológica. Educación XX1: revista de la Facultad de Educación. https://doi.org/10.5944/educxx1.20169 Masullo, G. M., Curry, A. L., Whipple, K. N., y Murray, C. (2021). e Story Behind the Story: Examining Transparency About the Journalistic Process and News Outlet Credibility. Journalism Practice, 0(0), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2020.1870529 Meyer, P. (1991). Precision Journalism: A Reporter’s Introduction to Social Science Methods. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littleeld.Molina Rodríguez-Navas, P., Medranda Morales, N., y Muñoz Lalinde, J. (2021). Transparency for participation through the communication approach. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 10(9), 586. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi10090586

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408 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónRogers, S. (2012). Open data journalism. e Guardian.Rogers, S. (2014). Data journalism is the new punk. British Journalism Review, 25(2), 31-34.Palau-Sampío, D. y López-García, G. (2022). Comunicación y crisis en el espacio público : disolución e incertidumbre. El Profesional de la Información, 31(3), 1–10.Park, S., y Gil-García, J. R. (2020). Open data innovation: Visualizations and process redesign as a way to bridge the transparency-accountability gap. Government Information Quarterly, (January), 101456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101456 Saavedra Llamas, M.; Herrero de la Fuente, M. y Castillo Lozano, E. (2020). La formación en periodismo de datos en España: radiografía de la oferta académica universitaria. Anàlisi: Quaderns de Comunicació i Cultura, 62, 93-109.Sánchez De Diego Fernández De La Riva, M. (2010). Por una ley de acceso a la información pública. Periodistas: revista de la Federación de Asociaciones de Periodistas de España, (22), 20-21.Sierra Rodríguez, J. (2022). Enfoques ante una reforma de la Ley de Especial referencia a la transparencia informativa del Gobierno. Revista Española de la Transparencia (14), 37–56. https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.216 Vu, H. T., y Saldaña, M. (2021). Chillin’ Eects of Fake News: Changes in Practices Related to Accountability and Transparency in American Newsrooms Under the Inuence of Misinformation and Accusations Against the News Media. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 98(3), 769–789. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699020984781 9. Appendix9.1. First Delphi SurveyDelphi Study on Journalism and Transparencyis research aims to provide answers to the relationship between transparency and journalism. Specically, it has attempted to assess the current state of transparency, potential improvements, and the usefulness of transparency in journalism.We have sent this questionnaire to experts in the eld with the aim of discovering common ground. We greatly appreciate your responses to the questions. Your answers are highly important for this research.First name and surname: Please give your assessment of the national regulations on transparency, as well as your opinion regarding how useful the access to information is for journalists.1. Do you believe the current state of transparency in Spain is adequate for the practice of journalism? Why? In 2013, the Law on Transparency, Access to Public Information, and Good Governance was passed in Spain. Give a rating from 1 to 10 of its usefulness for the practice of journalism, with 1 being worst and 10 being best. Only values from 1 to 10 are allowed.2. Do you think transparency oers useful tools for journalists today? Please justify your answer.

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doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 4093. What role should the media play in transparency? 4. Do you believe the media make the best use of transparency tools? Please justify your answer. 5. What do you think are the most appropriate uses of open data and transparency tools by journalists? 6. Do you think there is a need for journalists to monitor public data, and do you believe this leads to a more democratic and transparent society? 7. Do you believe there are disciplines within journalism that benet more from transparency than others, or do you think journalism is generally enhanced through transparency? 8.  Do you believe it is necessary to promote training for journalists in this area? What do they need to learn?9. Do you think the Transparency Law has promoted a culture of lucidity in the media?10.  Do you believe transparency can be useful in combating disinformation? If so, how?In Spain, a task force has been organised to reform the Transparency Law. We would like to ask whether you believe improvements are needed in both active publicity and access to information for the proper exercise of journalism:11. Do you believe the degree of active publicity in Spain is adequate for the practice of journalism? 12. What is your opinion about open data published by public institutions?13. Do you think the regulation of open data should also be included in the Transparency Law?14. Please tick the boxes of the statements below with which you agree regarding the improvement of active publicity and open data (you can choose as many options as you like): –e updating of information needs to be improved. –More information should be published on these web portals. –Information needs to be more reusable. –Search engines must be further developed. –ey should also oer more data visualisations. –e language used needs to be clearer.If you believe something else needs to be improved, please leave your comments below: 15. Regarding requests for information, please give your opinion regarding the adequacy of the current system: 16. Please tick the boxes of the statements below with which you agree regarding improvements in access to information (you can choose as many options as you like): –ere must be fewer limits on the right to access information. –e requirement to have an electronic ID or digital certicate should be removed. –Response times should be shortened. –ere should be no administrative silence.
410 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónIf you believe something else needs to be improved, please leave your comments below:17. Do you think the deadlines for information requests are realistic? Do you believe journalists should have deadlines that are more in line with their work routines in this regard?18. Generally speaking, what do you think should be the response time for access to information?National regulations authorise the Council for Transparency and Good Governance to evaluate compliance with transparency. In this regard, please answer the following questions:19.  Do you believe the Council for Transparency and Good Governance makes journalists’ work easier?20. Do you believe the CTGG should have the authority to give sanctions?21. Do you think it is appropriate for the CTGG to be assigned to the Ministry of Finance?If you would like to make any further suggestions on possible improvements to the CTGG, please leave your comments below:e Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the lack of a transparency culture in Spain. We would like to ask you about the opportunities now available for the development of transparency.22. During the pandemic, do you believe journalists’ work was made easier or more dicult as a result of the tools oered by transparency?23. In the post-pandemic era, do you believe public institutions have become more conscious of the need for transparency?24. Since the pandemic, do you think journalists are now more aware of the opportunities oered by transparency? If you would like to provide any further comments to this survey, please indicate this information below:Once again, thank you very much for your assistance. Your help is essential for the progress of this research.9.2. Second Delphi SurveySecond Delphi questionnaireis research aims to analyse the relationship between transparency and journalism. e objective is to evaluate the current state of transparency in Spain and possible improvements, as well as its usefulness for the journalistic profession. e focus of the second questionnaire is to obtain a certain consensus among the experts who participated in the survey. Once again, thank you for your time and eort.Responses to this questionnaire, as well as the previous one, are completely anonymous. Moreover, when the research is nished, the results will be sent to those experts who participated in the study and would like to receive them.ank you again for your generous contribution.
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 411Name and surname: Do you wish to receive the results of the study? ☐Yes☐NoAdvances in transparency and its usefulness in journalismAssessment of the degree of transparency in Spain for the proper exercise of journalism, and an appraisal of its usefulness for the media.Please rate the following statements from 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree”, and 5 being “strongly agree”12345e degree of transparency has improved since the introduction of the Transparency LawTransparency oers useful tools for journalists todaye transparency law has several shortcomings for the practice of journalisme media should promote a culture of transparency and denounce information ambiguitye media should oversee institutions through the use of transparency toolsJournalists should inspect public data in order to help build a more democratic and transparent societye media should make data that is published by institutions easier to understand e media do not take full advantage of the options oered by transparency All categories of journalism can be enriched by transparency Data journalism is the discipline that has made the greatest use of transparencyTransparency enables reporting on previously unknown topics and visualisations Transparency is especially useful for veriers and fact-checkers e media should encourage the training of journalists in transparencyTransparency helps reduce disinformationTransparency provides sources with which to contrast fake newsTransparency is not an instant antidote to disinformation, and public literacy is also neededIf you have any comments or suggestions regarding this section, please make them below:
412 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicacióne regulation of transparency and its implementation in practice.Assessment of possible improvements to current transparency regulations and its practical development. Firstly, active publicity and open data will be examined and, secondly, the right to access information.Active publicity and open dataAppraisal of the quality of active transparency and open data with regard to their regulation and development in the respective web portals.Please rate the following statements from 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree”, and 5 being “strongly agree”12345e degree of active publicity in Spain could be improvede extent of open data can also be improvedere is a lack of standardised quality regarding open datae transparency law should also include the regulation of open dataUpdating information should be improvedMore information should be published on these web portalse information published needs to be more reusablee search engines of the web portals need to be further developedWeb portals need to oer more data visualisationse language used in the web portals needs to be clearerere should be monitoring of open data to determine its impact and improve its quality
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 413e right to access informationAssessment of the current system of requests for information in Spain.Rate the following statements from 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree”, and 5 being “strongly agree”12345e current system of information requests can be improved ere should be fewer limits on the right to access informatione requirement to have an electronic ID or digital certicate to request information should be eliminatedResponse times to requests should be shortenedere should be no administrative silenceIdentication should not be required to make a request for informationJournalists should have a channel to request information that ts into their work scheduleResponse times should depend on whether or not prior development is needede maximum response time should be approximately 15 working daysIf you have any comments or suggestions regarding this section, please make them below:
414 | nº 38, pp. 391-415 | January-June of 2024Transparency and the Fourth Estate in Spain. A study addressing the value of information access for journalism in the ght...ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978doxa.comunicaciónAssessment of the work of the Council for Transparency and Good GovernanceAppraisal of the activity carried out by the Council for Transparency and Good Governance, especially regarding journalistic work.Rate the following statements from 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree”, and 5 being “strongly agree”12345e Council for Transparency and Good Governance makes the work of journalists easiere CTGG helps journalists by promoting greater openness of public institutions and resolving cases in which requests for information are deniede CTGG should have the authority to give sanctions in order to promote institutional transparency e Transparency Council should not be dependent on the Ministry of Finance and should have greater autonomye CTGG should receive more fundinge CTGG’s duties should be expandedImprovements in the inner workings of the CTGG would have a positive impact on journalistsIf you have any comments or suggestions regarding this section, please make them below:
doxa.comunicación | nº 38, pp. 391-415 January-June of 2024María Díez GarridoISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978| 415Transparency before and after the pandemicAssessment of the current state of transparency, both for institutions and the media, after the changes brought about by the global pandemic.Rate the following statements from 1 to 5, with 1 being “strongly disagree”, and 5 being “strongly agree”12345e suspension of information requests during the rst state of emergency impeded the work of journalistsere was a lack of transparency for journalists regarding the shortage of information related to public biddingDespite everything that occurred during the pandemic, public institutions have not become more conscious of the need for transparency Since the pandemic, journalists have become more aware of the transparency tools available to them If you have any addition comments related to this section, please leave them below:Finally, if you have any additional comments regarding the survey in general, please make them below:Once again, thank you very much for your participation.