El Jueves returns with a €3.70 Ayuso special issue
The Ayuso special costs €3.70, and AI-generated illustrations have sparked debate over El Jueves's business model.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
El Jueves returns with a €3.70 Ayuso special issue
El Jueves is back in print with a special issue dedicated to Isabel Díaz Ayuso and a cover price of €3.70 that has left no one indifferent. The surprise is that the backlash is not only about politics, but also about AI-generated illustrations and a price many consider excessive. The economic question is an uncomfortable one: are we looking at an editorial gamble or the management of a brand in decline?
The cover price and the AI suspicion
€3.70 is a steep figure for a product drawn by algorithms, or at least that is the argument in the analyses that circulated after the announcement. If AI production cuts costs, the price did not seem to reflect that drop. The debate intersects with nostalgia: some recall that 30 years ago print was worth what it cost.
Subsidies, sales and editorial drift
Part of the criticism goes further: it claims the magazine does not sell and survives on subsidies. It is an accusation without data in this discussion, but it reflects a spreading scepticism. People miss the old El Jueves, criticise that topics like Ceuta are left off the cover, or that Monasterio appears in a corner after two years away.
The Ayuso special may be a one-off success or a shipwreck; nobody knows yet. If the bet on AI and political current affairs is not accompanied by something more, it will probably remain a newsstand anecdote. But for now, the magazine has at least managed to reopen the debate about its own viability.
El Jueves is back in print with a special issue dedicated to Isabel Díaz Ayuso and a cover price of €3.70 that has left no one indifferent. The surprise is that the backlash is not only about politics, but also about AI-generated illustrations and a price many consider excessive. The economic question is an uncomfortable one: are we looking at an editorial gamble or the management of a brand in decline?
The cover price and the AI suspicion
€3.70 is a steep figure for a product drawn by algorithms, or at least that is the argument in the analyses that circulated after the announcement. If AI production cuts costs, the price did not seem to reflect that drop. The debate intersects with nostalgia: some recall that 30 years ago print was worth what it cost.
Subsidies, sales and editorial drift
Part of the criticism goes further: it claims the magazine does not sell and survives on subsidies. It is an accusation without data in this discussion, but it reflects a spreading scepticism. People miss the old El Jueves, criticise that topics like Ceuta are left off the cover, or that Monasterio appears in a corner after two years away.
The Ayuso special may be a one-off success or a shipwreck; nobody knows yet. If the bet on AI and political current affairs is not accompanied by something more, it will probably remain a newsstand anecdote. But for now, the magazine has at least managed to reopen the debate about its own viability.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (24 replies).
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