A concise and authoritative account of the fifty-year history of Spain's state-owned news agency, this book offers an illuminating case study in press-government relations. It chronicles the development of EFE from its founding in 1938-1939, to its emergence in the 1980s as the West's fifth largest news service and the dominant communications giant in the Hispanic world. Kim examines EFE's shifting relations with successive Spanish governments. He describes its activities as a Falangist propaganda agency during the Spanish Civil War and its political functions under the Franco dictatorship during World War II and the postwar period. Changes within the agency during the transition of 1976 to 1982 are discussed, and EFE's impact on the democratization process is given detailed consideration. Among the many topics covered are EFE as a political symbol, censorship, press law, EFE finances and legal status, organizational changes, technical modernization, and relations with other news agencies. The first work to provide a definitive record of La Agencia EFE, this book contains a wealth of information on the political and social history of modern Spain, international jourbanalism, and the modern communications industry.