Jan Martínez Ahrens, proposed as new editor-in-chief of EL PAÍS

The management board of EL PAÍS has agreed to start the process to name a new editor-in-chief for the newspaper. The president of EL PAÍS, Joseph Oughourlian, has proposed Jan Martínez Ahrens to replace Pepa Bueno, who has held the position since July 2021.

In line with the EL PAÍS Newsroom Statute, the proposal was officially communicated on Wednesday to the employees’ council of EL PAÍS and will be submitted to a non-binding vote by staff. Once the result of the vote is received, the board will formally ratify the appointment.

The management directors expressed gratitude to Pepa Bueno for her commitment and dedication: “Pepa is leaving EL PAÍS with over 400,000 subscribers and six editions across the Americas. Her leadership has been key to consolidating the newspaper’s strategic transformation.”

Jan Martínez Ahrens joined the newspaper in 1992 in the Spanish region of Valencia. After a long and successful career across various sections, roles, and countries, he has served as director of EL PAÍS America since 2020. He holds a degree in Philosophy, a master’s degree in Journalism from UAM-EL PAÍS, and a PDD from IESE Business School. He is a fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and studied under Gabriel García Márquez at the Foundation for New Ibero-American Journalism.

He began his journalism career at Diario 16 and joined EL PAÍS in 1992 — first in Valencia, then in Madrid as a crime reporter and later section editor. He went on to become chief editor of the Society section during a time when the newspaper was at the forefront of coverage on gender-based violence and social rights.

In 2006, he was named deputy editor of the Sunday edition, and later, of General News. In this role, he played a central part in securing, coordinating, and publishing the 250,000 classified U.S. State Department cables leaked by WikiLeaks and the Guantánamo Files — more than 700 confidential reports detailing prisoner abuse at the U.S. base. Both projects were carried out in collaboration with other major international outlets.

In 2014, he coordinated the Chinaleaks case at EL PAÍS, an investigation based on documents obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that exposed the Chinese Communist elite’s widespread use of offshore tax havens.

That same year, Martínez Ahrens became correspondent for Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, covering major events such as the Ayotzinapa tragedy and the escape and recapture of El Chapo. He also served as executive producer of a comic-reportage on gang violence in Honduras, which won the Gabriel García Márquez Prize for Innovation, awarded by the Foundation for New Ibero-American Journalism.

In early 2017, he was appointed chief correspondent in the United States, where he closely followed Donald Trump’s first presidential term and was named Best Spanish Foreign Correspondent by the International Press Club. Starting in June 2018, he served as deputy editor in Madrid, overseeing news coverage during a critical shift toward a digital subscription model, which included two general elections in Spain and the major editorial challenge of the pandemic.

Since October 2020, he has served as director of EL PAÍS America, interviewing numerous Latin American presidents, including Claudia Sheinbaum, Lula da Silva, Gabriel Boric, and Gustavo Petro.

Under his leadership, the newspaper has experienced a successful continental expansion with six editions (America, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and the U.S. in both Spanish and English), becoming a cornerstone of global news coverage.

As a result of this effort, EL PAÍS América received the World Editors Association Award for the best news site in Latin America in 2022 — an award for which 120 projects competed.

“EL PAÍS America increased its presence in LATAM, expanding the newsrooms in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile and reinforcing its coverage with the objective of giving Latin American readers a global perspective, with its principles of independence and rigor, as well as a look at the most important news in each country, with a wide network of reporters and analysts who are among the global references in media,” WAN-AFRA stated in the award announcement.

In recent years, the newspaper has distinguished itself in the Americas with its coverage of major regional events, on-the-ground reporting, and steadfast defense of human rights and democracy in a particularly turbulent region. Its latest initiative in the region is the launch of a U.S. edition in Spanish, ahead of the presidential elections — an ambitious project intended to become the voice of Latinos during a period marked by political regression and migrant persecution.

Internal talent

“Jan is someone from within the organization, an outstanding reporter, and a committed practitioner of the best journalism has to offer: rigor, independence, plurality, and on-the-ground reporting,” said Oughourlian. “Moreover, his experience in the Americas — first as chief correspondent in the U.S. and later as director of EL PAÍS America — is essential for restoring our newspaper’s relevance at a time when the global geostrategic context is shaping current events both there and in Europe.”

Pilar Gil, CEO of EL PAÍS and PRISA Media, reinforced the message she conveyed at her own appointment: “We are moving forward with our plan to be the global reference for news and entertainment in Spanish, for all generations, grounded in freedom and independence. Jan’s drive, his high standards, his courage, and his commitment to our readers and to the social project we stand for will allow us to accelerate the transformation of our news offering, broaden our reach to new audiences, and reaffirm the relevance and necessity of high-quality journalism in these uncertain times.”

Gil also recalled that, as the newspaper marks its 50th anniversary, the words of PRISA’s then-president at the 1977 General Shareholders’ Meeting remain strikingly relevant.

“Jesús de Polanco said that EL PAÍS should be a liberal, independent newspaper, socially supportive, national, European, and attentive to the changes taking place in Western society; understanding ‘liberal’ as being willing to understand and listen to others, even if they think differently, and not accepting that the ends justify the means,” she said.

“If we add to this mission our passion for the Americas and our commitment to its citizens, we have the newspaper we must build today. In this sense, and in line with EL PAÍS’s founding principles, I’m confident that under Jan’s leadership — with his experience and capacity for innovation — we will preserve the best of our history, advance our purpose, and face geopolitical instability and technological shifts by delivering the best information to our subscribers and readers, as well as to new audiences who deserve a media brand that meets the complexity of today’s world, no matter the format in which they choose to receive us.”

Eighth editor-in-chief of EL PAÍS

Over its 49-year history, EL PAÍS has had seven editors-in-chiefs: Juan Luis Cebrián (1976–1988), Joaquín Estefanía (1988–1993), Jesús Ceberio (1993–2006), Javier Moreno (2006–2014 and 2020–2021), Antonio Caño (2014–2018), Soledad Gallego-Díaz (2018–2020) and Pepa Bueno (2021–2025).

Pepa Bueno began her career in the news division of Spanish National Radio (RNE), later joining Spanish TV broadcaster RTVE, where she eventually directed and anchored the second edition of the national news broadcast. In 2012, she joined the Cadena SER radio network and in 2019 was appointed director of the nightly news program Hora 25. In July 2021, she took over as editor-in-chief of EL PAÍS.

Throughout her extensive career, Pepa Bueno has received numerous awards, including the Golden Microphone, the Media Tenor Award for Best Newscast in the World, the Ondas Award, the Francisco Cerecedo Journalism Award, the Salvador de Madariaga European Journalism Award, the Manu Leguineche Award for International Journalism, and the Agustín Merello Award from the Cádiz Press Association.