José Ortega Spottorno

Born in Madrid to famous philosopher José Ortega y Gasset and Rosa Spottorno Topete, José Ortega Spottorno was the founder of affordable paperback publishing firm Alianza Editorial and the Spanish daily newspaper El País, which quickly became the bestselling Spanish newspaper, a crown it holds to this day.

[1] While it was possible to found Alianza Editorial under Franco's rule, Ortega Spottorno's next project could not take place until the end of the Francoist State in Spain.

[1] El País was founded in May 1976 with its founder Ortega Spottorno as editor, and quickly rose to attain the highest circulation of any newspaper in Spain.

[1][3] Described as "the banner of Spain's democratic transition", El País immediately took on a very strong pro-amnesty stance, demanding the freeing from jail of all those imprisoned by Franco for political crimes.

Ortega Spottorno stepped down from the board of El País in 1984, accepting an honorary chairmanship to acknowledge his role in founding the paper.