Before this tragedy, EFE had already provided comprehensive coverage of a year marked by multiple electoral events.
The National desk brought the leading party candidates in the June European elections to EFE’s headquarters in Madrid for a series of press conferences that received significant media attention and, on several occasions, helped shape the political debate of those days.
EFE also delivered in-depth coverage of the regional elections held in three major autonomous communities: Galicia in February, the Basque Country in April, and Catalonia in May.
All of this took place in a year when the multimedia edition continued to grow, ensuring that clients received news content in text, photo, and video formats whenever possible. At the same time, EFE strengthened the use of breaking news formats to ensure greater quality and immediacy in the delivery of the country’s most important national stories.
EFE maintained a daily presence in Lebanon throughout two months of Israeli bombings, which resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. Our team also reported from inside Syria on the rebel advance from Aleppo to Damascus, where one of our contributors arrived on December 8, the same day Assad’s regime collapsed.
This state of conflict required the deployment of special correspondents to Beirut and Damascus to meet the growing demand for news from the region.
A 24-hour breaking news desk was also established to ensure uninterrupted coverage of the conflict. In response to heightened demand, EFE strengthened its position in the region by hiring a video coordinator in Lebanon and a staff writer in Cairo.
Gaza remained a focal point of international attention, becoming synonymous with death and destruction. Tens of thousands of people were killed throughout the year in the Israeli offensive launched in retaliation for the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Although international media have been barred from entering Gaza, EFE continued to rely on its permanent multimedia contributor in the area, offering a window into the daily horror faced by those living in the territory.
Ukraine also remained a key area of interest as the war entered another year with no signs of negotiations, and the world closely watched how the conflict might evolve following the return of Donald Trump to the White House. EFE maintained its permanent presence in Kyiv and Lviv.
In addition to the increase in armed conflicts, 2024 was marked by the victory of the Republican candidate in the U.S. presidential election in November, following a campaign defined by Joe Biden’s withdrawal and replacement by Kamala Harris during the primaries, and two attempted assassinations against Trump. EFE witnessed the first of those attempts, which occurred during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. EFE’s New York correspondent, Guillermo Azábal, was just a few meters away from the Republican leader when the shooting took place, accompanied by a photojournalist from the European Pressphoto Agency (EPA), and reported live amid the chaos and confusion following the failed attack. His coverage made headlines around the world: EFE was the only Spanish media outlet accredited at the rally.
Other key electoral events in 2024 included the July 28 presidential elections in Venezuela. According to the National Electoral Council—controlled by the Maduro regime—Nicolás Maduro won, a result contested by both the opposition and the international community. The entire electoral process—campaign, voting, dispute over results, and opposition protests—along with the departure of presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia from the country, intensified EFE‘s journalistic efforts in Venezuela, as well as in other countries involved in potential negotiations, such as Colombia and Brazil. These efforts were further bolstered by the international recognition awarded to González Urrutia and opposition leader María Corina Machado, recipients of the 2024 Sakharov Prize.
Another landmark election of 2024 was the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as President of Mexico, succeeding Andrés Manuel López Obrador, marking the first time a woman assumed the country’s highest office.
One of the most significant international coverages of the year—and a testament to EFE‘s global presence—was the trial of the Pelicot case in Avignon, France. A court sentenced Dominique Pelicot to 20 years in prison for drugging and raping his ex-wife, Gisèle Pelicot, and offering her to more than 50 men to abuse over ten years. EFE provided comprehensive multimedia coverage of the trial, in which Gisèle Pelicot became a symbol of the feminist movement in a country where sexual consent is still not legally defined.
Other major international stories included the Labour Party’s victory in the United Kingdom, the declaration of martial law in South Korea, hurricanes—particularly Hurricane Helene, which devastated the southeastern United States—the murder of UnitedHealthcare executive in New York by Luigi Mangione, the cultural phenomenon of the film Emilia Pérez, and the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Among market trends, gold and Bitcoin stood out, both reaching historic highs. Bitcoin surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time.
EFE’s reports—across all formats—covered these events in detail and gave voice to some of the year’s key players, including interviews with Spain’s Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo; Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz; union leaders Pepe Álvarez and Unai Sordo; and corporate executives like Banco Sabadell’s CEO, César González-Bueno; Endesa’s CEO, José Bogas; and Ryanair’s CEO, Eddie Wilson.
EFE also provided on-the-ground coverage at major global economic events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland) and the IATA (International Air Transport Association) Assembly in Dubai. In Spain, our journalists reported extensively from key trade fairs such as FITUR (International Tourism Fair) in Madrid and MWC (Mobile World Congress) in Barcelona, where EFE hosted its own space thanks to a partnership with Red.es, a public digital innovation agency.
Once again, the Economics desk collaborated with EFE’s audiovisual department to provide daily video and photo coverage of stock market news from the historic Madrid Stock Exchange building.
Similarly, EFE reported on the relentless force of extreme weather phenomena worldwide: from Hurricanes Milton (U.S.) and Helene (U.S., Mexico, and Cuba), to devastating floods in China, Brazil’s Rio Grande do Sul, and Bavaria in Germany, as well as droughts in the Amazon and Mexico, the wildfires in Valparaiso (Chile), and the January 1st earthquake in Japan.
EFE was also a key witness to the COP29 climate summit in Baku (Azerbaijan)—one of the few Spanish-language media outlets to travel to Central Asia to report on the planet’s environmental future.
In what was the third hottest year on record in Spain, EFE covered stories ranging from the recovery of the Iberian lynx and the loss of protection for the Iberian wolf to growing public opposition to certain energy developments.
From its Science desk, EFE provided daily coverage of cutting-edge studies and tackled complex topics such as the presence of microplastics in the human body, brain chip implants, and the future possibility of space hibernation. The dizzying pace of the space race also kept the team busy: reporting from Kourou in French Guiana on the launch of the Ariane 6 rocket; interviewing astronauts like Sara García and John McFall; and covering both the breakthroughs and setbacks of Elon Musk’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster.
EFE microphones also welcomed voices such as Nobel laureate John Jumper (Chemistry), NASA’s Chief Scientist Nicola Fox, and the former scientific director of Spain’s CNIO cancer research center, amid growing controversy surrounding the institution.
The challenges of Artificial Intelligence (AI) were another primary focus. EFE explained developments like AI that can simulate conversations with the deceased, or ‘TacticAI’ for football strategies—alongside broader AI applications in biology, driven by tech giants like Meta, DeepSeek, OpenAI, and Google. Many of these companies are also investing in quantum computing—another trend closely followed by EFE.
In a world of constant transformation, the Environment and Science departments contributed with their own perspective by participating in national forums like CONAMA or emergency response and civil protection seminars. As part of EFE’s multimedia strategy, the science and environment podcasts Mangas Verdes and Átomos & Bits were reimagined and are now available— and being downloaded—across all major platforms.
In 2024, with rigor as our guide, we aimed to tell the story of the present while keeping our eyes on the future within reach.
More than 30 EFE journalists covered the achievements of Spanish and Latin American athletes in Paris 2024, celebrating triumphs such as the women’s water polo team led by Pili Peña with support from Laura Ester, Anni Espar, Maica García, Paula Leitón, and others; the men’s football team’s gold medal; and the historic win in the mixed race walking relay with María Pérez and Álvaro Martín.
Adrián Rodríguez Húber, a long-standing sports journalist, received a special recognition from Nadia Comăneci for covering 12 editions of the Olympic Games—both winter and summer—during an emotional ceremony held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Natalia Arriaga, EFE‘s Olympic expert, had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch through the streets of Paris.
EFE not only reported on celebratory moments but also on painful ones, such as Carolina Marín’s serious knee injury during the badminton semifinals. The gold medal favorite had to withdraw from the Games, and the images of her tears and cries of pain spread around the world. Weeks later, back in Madrid, she broke her silence in an in-depth interview with EFE‘s Sports Director, Luis Villarejo, detailing the full extent of her injury and outlining her plans for the future—just days before receiving the Princess of Asturias Award. Carolina remains, according to surveys, the most beloved athlete in Spain.
Spain’s victory at the UEFA Euro—defeating England 2–1 in the final in Berlin—marked the meteoric rise of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, the solid performances of Mikel Oyarzábal and Mikel Merino, and the consolidation of Luis de la Fuente as a top-tier head coach. At a forum organized by EFE in collaboration with the Alfonso X el Sabio University and the Rafa Nadal Academy, De la Fuente outlined his roadmap and discussed the emerging new generation of Spanish footballers. He also highlighted the achievements of Rodri, who won the Ballon d’Or—becoming only the second Spaniard to do so, after Luis Suárez.
EFE gave extensive coverage to Rafa Nadal’s emotional farewell, as he competed in the Davis Cup in Málaga. Journalists Santiago Aparicio and David Ramiro traveled from Madrid to report on the farewell of Spain’s most outstanding athlete of all time.
EFE also continued its tradition of awarding the Best Latin American Players of the Year in both men’s and women’s categories. EFE’s President, Miguel Ángel Oliver, presented the award in Madrid to Brazilian striker Vinicius, from Real Madrid, who has now won it three times. Vinicius proudly displayed the trophy in his home’s awards room and on his social media. His 2024 was filled with triumphs, including winning the Champions League.
In the women’s category, Miguel Ángel Oliver traveled to London to present the award to Colombian striker Mayra Ramírez, who plays for Chelsea and was recognized as the most valuable Latin American female footballer of 2024. The award received broad coverage on top networks like Caracol TV and had its usual significant impact throughout Latin America.
EFE Deportes advanced its branding strategy along two main lines: first, through industry forums held in cities like Valencia (with figures such as Feliciano López and Anabel Medina) and Málaga (with Garbiñe Muguruza, Conchita Martínez, and Antonio Jesús López Nieto); and second, through the continued growth of the EFE Sport Business newsletter, now a leading reference in the sector, distributed every Friday to subscribers. The impact and influence of this format earned Gloria Barquero, editor-in-chief of the newsletter, a spot—for the third consecutive year—on the list of the 100 most influential women in the sports industry in Spain.
EFE‘s steadfast commitment to women’s sports remained a key focus for the newsroom. Highlights included the Women’s Champions League final held at San Mamés stadium in Bilbao, where FC Barcelona claimed the title and Aitana Bonmatí reigned supreme; comprehensive year-round coverage of Liga F; and the continued rise of female athletes in track and field and tennis, including the confirmed return of Paula Badosa.
On another front, EFE‘s YouTube channel surpassed one million subscribers and reached over 100,000 published videos, which now
include an increasingly established podcast production.
As for coverage, the past year was particularly demanding for both photo and video departments. In addition to regular major news events across all areas, our cameras were focused with precision on global-scale happenings such as the Paris Olympic Games, the Euro Cup in Germany, elections in the U.S., Mexico, and Venezuela, conflicts like the one in Gaza, and natural disasters such as the DANA in Spain—a tragedy in which our images and footage made the front pages and top news reports across hundreds of media outlets.
Madrid, 04/12/2024
A WORKER IS SEEN CLEANING THE COMMEMORATIVE INSTALLATION MARKING THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPAIN’S FIRST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS TO THE SENATE.’ The photograph, titled Democratic Cleaning, by EFE’s photo contributor Fernando Villar, won the 2024 Parliament Image Award.
It captures a moment in which a worker cleans the commemorative artwork honoring the three decades since those landmark elections. EFE/Fernando Villar
Madrid, 10/20/2024
ONE OF THE SPECIALISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR PRESERVING THE CARPETS OF THE SPANISH CONGRESS OF DEPUTIES WORKS ON RESTORING A PIECE AT MADRID’S ROYAL TAPESTRY FACTORY. The team, made up mostly of women—around 20 in total —maintains the nearly 3,300 meters of carpets that cover floors in the chambers, offices, halls, and the hemicycle. These carpets are removed during the summer months for cleaning and restoration, and are now returning to the Lower House. EFE/ Chema Moya
An image of the Guadalhorce reservoir in Málaga, shown at historically low levels. In response to the severe drought affecting the Mediterranean basin, the drought committee has agreed to implement new water restrictions, setting the maximum consumption at 180 liters per person per day in Málaga city and the Axarquía, and 200 liters in the western Costa del Sol and Campo de Gibraltar (Cádiz). EFE/Jorge Zapata
DARIÉN, PANAMÁ, 09/22/2023.
Migrants cross the Turquesa River on September 14, 2023, in Darién, Panama. “Horrible, horrible,” many migrants repeat. The passage through the Darién jungle, the natural border between Panama and Colombia, is not as they imagined. Misinformation and deception, guided by videos flooding social media and acquaintances’ accounts, exacerbate the migration crisis. EFE/ Bienvenido Velasco
PAMPLONA, 10/09/2024.
EFE’s Navarra-based photographer Jesús Diges received the 2024 Teobaldo Press Photography Award for an image taken during the traditional Pilón bull run in Falces this past summer. EFE/ Jesus Diges
CHAME (PANAMA),11/07/2023.
A man fires a weapon at a protester during a teachers’ blockade on the Pan-American Highway in Chame, Panama. On Tuesday, an armed man opened fire during a protest against a mining contract that has been ongoing for two weeks in Panama, injuring two people who were blocking a road, as confirmed on-site by EFE. EFE/Bienvenido Velasco
This year, EFE launched a new account on Bluesky, adding to its existing presence on X, Facebook, Threads, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
In line with this, the volume and formats of vertical video were expanded, with a strong push on LinkedIn and YouTube. On the latter, the “Shorts” format—fed exclusively by the Digital Content team—became the fastest-growing content in terms of views in 2024.
Meanwhile, efe.com, EFE’s leading news portal, nearly doubled its traffic, reaching 2 million page views over the year. Contributing to this growth were major news events such as the Olympic Games, the Euro Cup, the U.S. presidential elections, the war in Gaza, and Claudia Sheinbaum’s victory in Mexico.
To support this growth, the Digital Newsroom enhanced its web and social media editing processes—both in Madrid and Bogotá—to improve content quality and prevent the spread of errors.
In 2024, EFE Verifica consolidated its role as a leading force in the fight against disinformation in Spanish, with a year marked by innovation, international collaboration, and recognition for its journalistic work.
Ahead of the June European Parliament elections, EFE Verifica joined Elections24Check, a coalition of over 40 fact-checking organizations working to counter electoral disinformation. Its participation was made possible thanks to its membership in the European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN), which it joined after passing a rigorous quality and transparency audit.
EFE Verifica also played a prominent role in key forums on disinformation analysis. During the opening conference of the second phase of the Iberian Digital Media Observatory (Iberifier), held in Pamplona, EFE Verifica addressed the impact of false information in the run-up to the European elections. At the event, the president of the Navarre region, María Chivite, announced a partnership to support Iberifier in promoting media literacy across various social sectors.
On the technological front, EFE Verifica joined the MuseAI project in collaboration with the Athens Technology Center and the Polytechnic University of Madrid. The initiative focuses on developing AI-based tools for multilingual claim detection and comparison, aimed at improving the efficiency and reach of fact-checkers.
EFE Verifica’s work received significant attention in 2024, with direct mentions in The New York Times and The Guardian, as well as interviews across several outlets, including RTVE’s Europa 2024.
In 2024, EFEminista continued to strengthen its position as a key feminist platform for disseminating information with a gender perspective, with a notable presence in both Spain and Latin America, and growing interest in some Nordic countries.
EFEminista adopted a strong multimedia strategy, producing innovative educational videos in various formats that were well received and widely shared, leading to a significant increase in visits and followers.
Special multimedia coverage created for International Women’s Day (March 8), the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25), and the Madrid Book Fair featured fresh, unconventional designs that were highly successful and served as a model for new products offered to EFE’s subscribers.
Throughout 2024, EFEsalud maintained its commitment to providing a public service, offering not only news and feature stories but also interviews with leading voices in the field—such as psychologist Isabel Rojas Estapé, nutritionist Elisa Blázquez, and TV presenter Ángel Martín, who spoke about mental health.
Aligned with key awareness days, EFEsalud launched a special feature for World Health Day in 2024 focused on individuals who had overcome diseases such as HIV, breast cancer, hepatitis C, or depression. For Rare Disease Day, EFEsalud published a special report highlighting critical concepts that are helping improve the management of rare conditions.
In its ongoing interaction with the health sector, EFEsalud continued its series of dialogue sessions on topics such as advanced therapies and the psychosocial impact of chronic illness, including forums like the one held on mental health in the Valencian Community.
Environmental disasters, intensified by the climate crisis, dominated much of the coverage on efeverde.com in 2024. That year, the platform once again sent one of its climate negotiation specialists to cover COP29 in Baku.
Significant events such as the Valencia storm (dana), the wildfires in Hawaii and Chile, the ongoing drought, and Hurricane Milton featured prominently in EFEverde’s reporting. A significant portion of the team’s work also focused on the various LIFE projects of the European Commission in which EFE participates through EFEverde.
In 2024, EFEverde’s journalism was once again recognized. The team received the Communication Award from Women Action Sustainability (WAS) for its work in promoting a “new consciousness of sustainability.”
In June, EFEverde director Arturo Larena received a journalism award from the Spanish Energy Club. Additionally, journalist Marta Montojo was included on the list of the 100 most committed Latinos in the fight against climate change, alongside EFE president Miguel Ángel Oliver.
Another milestone of the year was the launch of the Cristina Yuste–Signus Ecovalor Young Environmental Journalism Fellowship, created in memory of the late EFEverde colleague who passed away in 2021.
In 2024, the number of news items entered into the database reached 900,432.
Thematic content in the database was updated and expanded daily. A noteworthy figure: over 745 timelines, documents, and biographies were distributed across various editorial channels, all produced by EFEData.
We continued producing multimedia packages highlighting the most significant anniversary or event of the day.
In 2024, a total of 721,953 photos were documented
Madrid, 03/06/2024 – “20 years since 11M: Memory of Pain and Solidarity”
Zaragoza, 06/03/2024 – Commemorative photo exhibition “40 years of EFE Aragón”
Lima (Peru), 06/06/2024 – Exhibition “Transformation and Connectivity: Opportunities for a World in Motion” (The Communication Revolution) in partnership with Telefónica
Murcia, 06/06/2024 – Commemorative photo exhibition “40 years of EFE Murcia”
Valladolid, 07/11/2024 – Commemorative exhibition “40 years of EFE Castilla y León – A Journey Through Four Decades of News”
Santander, 07/15/2024 – Commemorative photo exhibition “40 years of EFE Cantabria”
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 07/24/2024 – Olympic Games Exhibition (Canary Islands athletes) at the Real Club Náutico de Gran Canaria
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 07/29/2024 – Exhibition “Canarias en el Olimpo”
Madrid, 09/09/2024 – Exhibition “Fifty Images for Memory” (Rolando Café attack)
Logroño, 10/08/2024 – Commemorative photo exhibition “40 years of EFE La Rioja”
San Salvador (El Salvador), 10/16/2024 – “EFE: 85 Years Connected to You”
Madrid, 11/14/2024 – Exhibition for EFE’s 85th anniversary and opening of “Your Collective Memory” at Espacio Larra
Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), 11/28/2024 – EFE’s 85th anniversary exhibition at the Museo de las Casas Reales
In 2024, a total of 124,072 videos were added to EFEServicios, including 87,145 raw clips, with the remainder being edited.
In 2024, 9,569 feature reports were downloaded.
In 2024, the EFE Agency School expanded its international presence and broadened its national scholarship programs, further establishing itself as a leading professional institution for journalism training in Spanish worldwide.
The School’s participation in the ICEX Vives program concluded its first two years with around twenty young journalists trained at EFE‘s international bureaus —an achievement highlighted during the awarding ceremony of the program’s first diplomas, which aim to promote the internationalization of Spanish companies.
The “la Caixa” Foundation and EFE Agency scholarships marked their twentieth edition, having become a benchmark in journalism education. The presentation of the twelve recipients of this 20th edition, held at Palau Macaya in Barcelona, showcased the program’s excellence. Several prominent journalists from recent generations, all former scholarship holders, took part in the event and shared their experiences.
The EFE School of Journalism also expanded opportunities for young journalists through the “Cristina Yuste” EFE-Signus Environmental Journalism Scholarship. Created in memory of the EFE Verde journalist who passed away in 2021, this scholarship joins other environmental specialization programs sponsored by organizations such as WWF, Ecoembes, Oriva, and Sigre, all of which renewed their collaboration agreements in 2024.
The agreement with SGAE for the “Carlos del Amo” scholarship—now in its second edition—was also extended. This program has quickly become a key reference in cultural journalism training. Likewise, EFE‘s partnership with Canon continued, focusing on teaching young journalists new audiovisual storytelling techniques.
Students of the Master’s Degree in Agency Journalism, offered by EFE in collaboration with Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, completed internships across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. This academic year, the program strengthened its curriculum in Artificial Intelligence (AI), aiming to equip students with the evolving skills required in modern journalism.
