La Mira

"It's not going to work." That was the general opinion of the people to whom Joan Camp and Francesc Canosa pitched their project in 2018: a digital magazine in the Catalan language, away from current affairs, that would publish three long articles weekly and rely on photojournalism.

Therefore, they launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise funds and, above all, to see the community's response. "We told them that the project could only be done if they wanted to do it," Camp recalled. And people wanted to. They got 16,000 euros and the social backing they needed to get started.

La Mira is a Catalan name that means "the look, the approach" and also refers to the camera lens. It aims to pause the accelerated flow of information in which people "are trained not to see a certain part of reality," Canosa said. As described in its crowdfunding campaign, it is a magazine for people "connected to reality, not enslaved by breaking news".

"We accept that reality is complex; that's why we dedicate time to look at it in a different way, to be with people, to listen," Canosa added. "We publish stories you don't normally find in the media; journalism has forgotten about people."

The readers had to get used to that journalism, recalled Camp. According to him, it was necessary to do pedagogy because there was nothing similar in the market. "It took some time; today, they give us ideas and make proposals," he said.

The company is formed by two partners: Camp is responsible for the business, and Canosa for the journalistic side. It employs 12 people and publishes a website, a newsletter, a podcast and a biannual magazine.

Its revenue comes from 1,000 web subscribers, a printed magazine, advertising, editorial projects for third parties and events, such as photojournalism and a podcast award. Camp says they have a clear social commitment: "To explain Catalonia to the Catalans."

Last updated: January 2023

Last updated date: June 2025