The Spanish media landscape is characterised by a high level of concentration at the national level. The privately owned media groups Atresmedia and Mediaset and the public broadcaster RTVE represent more than 75% of the market. At the regional level, this sector is marked by a significant presence of public broadcasters allied in the Federation of Regional Radio and Television Entities (FORTA), which increases the risk of political interference. There is more diversity in the print media sector.

Driven by the polarisation of Spanish society, a segment of the media is increasingly replacing news with opinion, a trend that is in turn fuelling the public’s mistrust of journalists. The extent of this phenomenon was revealed by the support that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s left-wing coalition received from regional nationalist parties, allowing him to renew his term as prime minister. The far-right group Vox continues to spread false information and to deny journalists and the media access to its events.

The government and its parliamentary allies failed to keep their promise to repeal the most controversial articles of the "gag law" during the previous legislative session. It therefore remains in effect ten years after its adoption, despite the renewed reform pledges. Certain “crimes of opinion”, such as “insulting the crown” and “offending religious sentiments”, have not been decriminalised either and are the subject of renewed parliamentary debate that drags on.

The high concentration of private media is accompanied by a lack of transparency regarding the real influence of media owners on government officials and politicians. This lack of transparency also concerns expenditure on advertising by both the state sector and major private-sector companies. Since the 2008 economic crisis and the resulting loss of media sector jobs, journalism has become a chronically precarious profession.

Spanish society is tolerant and open to diversity, and journalists rarely face pressure other than that coming from the authorities. Nonetheless, the growing polarisation and radicalisation of public opinion is reflected in a climate of hostility towards journalists, one of the professions least appreciated by Spaniards.

The formation of a new left-wing administration and a proposed amnesty law for politicians who participated in a bid for Catalan independence in 2017 triggered a wave of protests by the right, especially the far right, during which abuses against journalists increased (insults, physical attacks, harassment). Covering protests has once again become dangerous in Spain. The climate of hostility is reproduced on social media, where far-right and far-left trolls constantly target media professionals.