- Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre, president of La Voz de Galicia, has died at the age of 85
Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre He died this Tuesday from complications of an illness that has deteriorated his health in recent weeks. The president of The voice of Galicia, Also editor-in-chief of the newspaper, he said goodbye at the age of 85 after a life dedicated to the media, becoming a key figure in journalism in Galicia and Spain. His mortal remains now rest in the Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre Museum, in the Sabón industrial area, in Arteixo (A Coruña).
The businessman was born in La Coruña on August 31, 1938 and was the owner and president of the Corporation Voice of Galicia SA The communications group also includes Medios Audiovisuales de Galicia (made up of the RadioVoz network and the production company Voz Audiovisual), the Population Institute Sondaxe, the digital content company Canal Voz, the distributor Disgasa, Galicia Editorial and the digital newspaper. The voice of Asturias.
His grandfather, Juan Fernández Latorre, was the founder of The voice of Galiciaa newspaper where he started working after graduating from law school and which he ended up directing in 1988. Under his leadership, the newspaper experienced a growing seasonuntil it became the most widely distributed printed newspaper in Galicia and one of the first in Spain.
But this expansion also went towards the Galician territory itself, reaching every corner of the community through the creation of the local editions, which have been maintained until today. This was one of their major concerns, to promote local information and “Galician vertebrate” adapt to the main problems of the moment, as the header highlights.
This entire process was part of a total technological renewal that led the media to exceed 100,000 copies of daily circulation. Furthermore, in 1992, it would inaugurate the smart building that houses the Sabón printing house.
Great recognitions
The businessman leaves behind a great legacy that goes far beyond the newspaper itself. In the late 90s, he created the Santiago Rey Fernández-Latorre Foundation to “give continuity to the ownership and editorial line of The voice of Galicia and its group of communications companies.”
The Foundation’s activities aim to development of educational programs related to communication and promotes the Voz Natura environmental education program; announces the Fernández Latorre Award, organizes the Master in Journalistic and Audiovisual Production (MPXA) and manages a museum with a collection of almost 5,000 periodicals, some of them five hundred years old, and graphic arts machines from the last 150 years.
Santiago Rey also developed a large part of his work outside Galicia, promote benchmark business initiatives with other publishers. He was president of the Association of Spanish Newspaper Editors (AEDE), of Antena 3 Galicia, and of the Cable Group, Leon’s Diary and of Journal16. And advisor to the Colpisa agency, Antena 3 TV and Antena 3 Radio. From 1987 to 1995, he chaired the company TESA (Taller de Editores), publisher of The weekly. He also chaired the International Press Institute (IPI).
He is also the author of several hundreds of articles and a book that brings together some of his most recent public interventions and many: I protest (2016).
For all his work over several decades, he has been rewarded on numerous occasions. The Galician received the Grand Cross of Civil Merit in 1986 and in 2022, on the occasion of the 140th anniversary of The voice of GaliciaFelipe VI decorated him with the Grand Cross of Isabella the Catholic. Furthermore, he is the favourite son of La Coruña and the province of La Coruña; adopted son of Ferrol, Muxía, Ortigueira and Culleredo.
