''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was "an anti-'' Popular'', pro-Independence tabloid" in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It circulated daily, except Sundays.''About El Imparcial. (San Juan, P.R.) 1918-197?.''
United States Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 July 2012. Its full name was ''El Imparcial: El diario ilustrado de Puerto Rico.'' ''El Imparcial'' was given new life in 1933 under the leadership of Antonio Ayuso Valdivieso. The paper Valdivieso bought that year for $2,000 at an auction was described as a "floundering literary periodical" in his obituary; under his leadership it became Puerto Rico's second largest newspaper (after '' El Mundo''). He sought to emulate the ''

New York Daily News The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

''. Valdivieso, who had headed the nationalist party prior to acquiring the paper, penned editorials arguing for Puerto Rican independence. Though a contemporary story in ''

Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the news media industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry," with offices in Hendersonville, ...

'' described the paper as "frowned upon by intellectuals and ridiculed by reformers," the paper grew to a circulation of 65,000, making it the most widely-read publication on the island. Its reporting on government corruption in the 1940s resulted in an important court precedent on

freedom of the press Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic Media (communication), media, especially publication, published materials, shoul ...

and government transparency. Valdivieso was incapacitated by illness in the early 1960s, and his second wife took over the business management of the paper. In the late 1960s the family brought in new management, which made a number of changes, including softening the pro-independence stance. Circulation dropped significantly. Valdivieso died in 1970. In the 1970s

Miguel A. García Méndez Miguel Angel García Méndez (November 17, 1902 – November 17, 1998) was a Puerto Rican politician, businessman and lawyer. García Méndez served as the 11th Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico and later served in the Pue ...

bought the newspaper. The headquarters of the newspaper were destroyed by arson in an act of political sabotage. The paper somewhat recovered and kept running for a short time after that with only one-third of its employees. Eventually, the government expropriated the building where it was located. The last known issue of the paper is dated 28 February 1973 (Año 38, núm. 14,210). However, La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña in New York City has editions of the newspaper spanning many years.

Contributing writers

Among the more prominent journalists with ''El Imparcial'' were

Luis Pales Matos Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish language, Spanish form of the originally Germanic language, Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese language, Portuguese and G ...

, Angel Rivero Mendez, Hector Campos Parsi, Rafael Pont Flores, and Luis Rechani Agrait. Other contributors were Carmen Mirabal, Aida Zorrilla, Miguel Angel Yumet, Luis Colón, Victor M. Padilla and Millie Cappalli Arango.

Circulation

From 1964-65, its Monday thru Saturday average daily circulation was 51,119.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Imparcial, El Defunct newspapers published in Puerto Rico Spanish-language newspapers published in Puerto Rico Publications disestablished in 1973 1918 establishments in Puerto Rico Newspapers established in 1918