3 and a half minutes. That's 210 seconds.
Enough time to breathe about twenty times. To walk two or three blocks in the Eixample. To have a quick coffee at the bar. Or to read, on average, an article from The New Barcelona Post.
I've always been fascinated by this "reading time" thing. In fact, I have to admit that it inevitably transports me to museums and the time we dedicate to observing a work of art. They say that, on average, people spend between 15 and 20 seconds in front of each work of art. And it is, in fact, the same amount of time many dedicate to "reading" articles: looking at the photograph, reading the headline, and doing a quick scroll before continuing.
And this is what statistics say, but we know that to truly understand a work, you have to stop. Look at it a little longer. Enter into it. Discover its context, the nuances, the invisible layers. I suppose 3 and a half minutes in front of a work of art is enough time to delve into it.
There are, in fact, some who extend it much longer. Professor James O. Pawelski used to take his students to the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and asked them to spend twenty minutes in front of a single work. He argued that such unhurried contemplation not only enriched the artistic experience but also produced benefits very similar to those of meditation.
When I think that readers of The New Barcelona Post dedicate, on average, 3 and a half minutes to each article, I cannot help but think about the responsibility this implies. The responsibility not to fill for the sake of filling. To provide a valuable moment during these 210 seconds.
To practice journalism that not only informs but also enriches. That provides context. That inspires. That helps to understand a city as complex, contradictory, and extraordinary as Barcelona. That gives long life to good news and makes visible all those things that do work, even if they often make less noise.
And in this intentional dedication of time, there is also the responsibility to remain very magazine. To escape the constant urgency. Not to compete to be first, but to be relevant. And even to try to make reading an enjoyment.
Because it's not just what we explain, but how we explain it: the authors' own voice, the rhythm of the articles, the care of the photographs, the silences, the white space, the balance between information and perspective, the preservation of trust.
And enjoyment, inevitably, also has to do with the container.
Sometimes I wonder what The New Barcelona Post would be like if it were physical. What role would it have. What grammage. What feel. If it would be one of those magazines left open on the living room table or in a hotel lobby for someone to browse again later.
And we have to approach the digital space in the same way. That's why, today you read us with a different grammage, with a new website. The design that Ricardo Feriche conceived in 2018 brilliantly represented the editorial and aesthetic framework of the magazine for more than eight years. So much so, that last year it was still recognized with an award for best design, the Best Digital Editorial Design granted by APPEC magazine and digital publishers.
But we already know that, in the digital age, time does not pass the same way. It's a bit like dog years: if in the canine world, one year is equivalent to seven, in the digital world the proportion is even more exaggerated. The eight years of The New Barcelona Post on the internet have been practically an entire lifetime.
Since that 2018, the project has changed a lot. And at the same time, not so much. The hands have changed —Must Media acquired the project in 2021—, ambitions, readers, and formats have grown. But the same foundational conviction remains intact: to explain Barcelona from talent, initiative, culture, economy, creativity, and innovation.
"We don't renew ourselves to stop being who we are. We renew ourselves, precisely, to be more faithful than ever."
We continue to believe that Barcelona is the best place in the Mediterranean to live, work, create, and invest. And we continue to believe that journalism also has the responsibility to build a city narrative. To explain what happens, yes, but also what is possible.
And this new digital stage that we begin today with a new design is born exactly from here.
We don't renew ourselves to stop being who we are. We renew ourselves, precisely, to be more faithful than ever. To better care for the content. To give more space to stories. To make reading more pleasant. To pamper these 3 and a half minutes of your time that you dedicate to us, and extend them if necessary.
By the way, you know what they say that bad news never comes alone? Well, good news doesn't either. Stay close, because this new website is just one of many novelties that we will be telling you about before summer catches up with us.
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