20minutos — one of Spain’s most popular daily newspapers — has remained a symbol of resilience, openness, and audience trust for more than two decades. Its experience offers valuable insights for regional Ukrainian media.
Founded in 2000 as a free newspaper for a wide audience, 20minutos today reaches over 20 million unique digital users each month and more than half a million print readers. The newspaper is published five times a week and is part of the HENNEO media group, headed by Fernando de Yarza López-Madrazo.
Notably, HENNEO has been operating for more than 125 years, tracing its roots back to the Heraldo de Aragón, founded in 1895. The group includes such brands as 20minutos, La Información, and Heraldo de Aragón. HENNEO is a leader in digital transformation, having established an alliance of more than 40 media organizations to accelerate innovation across the sector. One of its key focuses is the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into editorial workflows, analytics, advertising, and multimedia production.
HENNEO defines itself as a publishing group committed to independent, honest, and socially responsible journalism. Its media brands successfully combine high-quality content with broad accessibility — maintaining both mass appeal and strong public trust.
At the invitation of Fernando de Yarza López-Madrazo, President of the HENNEO media group, Oksana Brovko, CEO of the Association of Independent Regional Press Publishers of Ukraine (AIRPPU), attended the award ceremony where she received the main 20minutos Prize for her contribution to the development of independent Ukrainian media. The award was presented by King Felipe VI of Spain.
During her stay in Madrid, she also visited the 20minutos newsroom — a meeting that became a symbolic continuation of the ceremony. According to Oksana Brovko, 20minutos is a truly modern and dynamic media outlet, deeply rooted in its community. What began as a free daily newspaper has evolved into a powerful digital platform with a multimillion audience and a strong focus on socially significant issues.
The outlet remains one of the few in Europe that has managed to preserve the format of a free daily newspaper while staying both financially stable and influential. Its newsroom employs around 120 staff members who produce socially oriented stories — «for people and about people». This human-centered approach is what truly draws readers in.
Oksana Brovko was deeply impressed by how lively the newsroom was: the office was filled with journalists working at their desks — a genuine «living newsroom», as the team calls it. After years of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, returning to a shared editorial space has become a symbol of unity, inspiration, and renewed creative energy for the 20minutos team.
Such moments, admits Oksana Brovko, are deeply moving — they immediately bring to mind the everyday realities of Ukraine’s regional media. Many journalists have been forced to relocate, often working remotely or even from shelters — in darkness, under shelling. Yet despite these challenges, they remain faithful to their values and mission: to bring the truth to people.
Stories close to people
Despite its strong social focus, 20minutos does not shy away from political and international topics — and Ukraine remains a constant presence in its coverage. During the visit to the newsroom, one of the journalists was preparing a story about Pokrovsk — a Ukrainian city that has suffered from Russian attacks.
«It was deeply symbolic — the Ukrainian story continues to resonate at the heart of a European newsroom», emphasized Oksana Brovko.
Today, 20minutos stands as a powerful example of how traditional print journalism can successfully merge with innovative digital approaches. The outlet is actively expanding its multimedia presence, building strong engagement across digital platforms while maintaining its most valuable asset — the trust of its audience.
«I was impressed by their editorial culture — teamwork, technological openness, and attention to the audience. They know exactly how to adapt content across formats — from breaking news to in-depth analysis — while preserving a sense of humanity. Their experience is truly worth learning from», Brovko noted.
Digital Presence and Social Media
The 20minutos newsroom places a strong focus on video formats and social media engagement. Its key platforms today are YouTube and TikTok.
On YouTube, the outlet develops two distinct formats: shorts, aimed at expanding audience reach, and long-form video interviews, which drive monetization. TikTok has become another strategic space for connecting with younger audiences, where the team experiments with storytelling and tone to match the platform’s dynamics.
In contrast, Facebook and Instagram are no longer editorial priorities. The team at 20minutos believes that prioritizing video and agile digital platforms allows them to stay closer to new generations of readers while strengthening the publication’s sustainability.
According to Oksana Brovko, the newsroom works on a «digital-first» principle — online publication comes first, followed by adaptation for print. Although the paper is still published five times a week, only a small group of editors — just a few people — work on the print edition, while the majority of the staff focuses on digital storytelling.
There is a sense of constant motion in the 20minutos newsroom: most of the staff work on digital projects — producing news content, creating videos, and managing social media. This approach keeps the outlet agile, enabling it to react swiftly to breaking events while maintaining high editorial quality.
The experience of this Spanish media outlet proves that even in an age of digital transformation, it is possible to stay close to people — to speak simply about complex issues and build trust day by day. For Ukrainian regional newsrooms working under the pressures of war, the story of 20minutos is an important reminder that journalism is not just a profession — it is a force capable of holding society together.
