Xavier Mas de Xaxàs

With a degree in Information Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and a graduate in Contemporary History from the University of Barcelona, Xavier Mas de Xaxàs has been a journalist for more than thirty years. Throughout his career, he has mainly reported international news, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the occupation of Palestine and the Russian invasion of, and war in Ukraine. After being an intern at Europa Press, he began to work at La Vanguardia in 1988. From 1996 to 2002, he was the newspaper’s Washington correspondent, covering stories like the 11 September attacks and the Lewinsky scandal. Following these events, he wrote La sonrisa americana. Una reflexión sobre el imperio estadounidense (The American Smile: Some Thoughts about the US Empire, Mondadori, 2003), in which he gives an account of American hegemony and its cultural influence in our lives. He is also author of Mentiras. Viaje de un periodista a la desinformación (Lies: A Journalist’s Journey in Disinformation, Destino, 2005) where he discusses the challenges facing journalism today, the relationship between the press and power, and the risks of manipulation of information. His most recent book, El árbol del mundo (The Tree of the World, Libros de Vanguardia, 2022) brings an experienced, analytical gaze to the last three decades and the major global conflicts. In 2008, he created Wikidiario.info, a digital platform that aims to train new journalists and which, in 2014, began to publish the online weekly Report.cat. He is also codirector (with Poldo Pomés) of the documentary Nieves Arrazola, coauthor of the audiovisual project La cadira de Carme (Carme’s Chair), and of the interview series Giardinetto Sessions. In 2019 he received the Salvador de Madariaga European Journalism Award for his career devoted to offering analysis and information about Europe.