No-Do is the colloquial name for Noticiario y Documentales[1] ("News and Documentaries"), a state-controlled series of cinema newsreels produced in Spain from 1943 to 1981[1] and closely associated with the 1939–1975 Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime.[2]
In their heyday, the No-Do newsreels predictably contained a good deal of propaganda and effervescent reporting in favour of the Francoist State. They were a way in which Franco could have a monopoly over the news and supply public information, censorship and propaganda for the formation of public opinion favorable to the Spanish State.
The No-Do newsreels, tainted by their indelible association with the Francoist State, fell out of favour within a few years of Spain's transition to democratic government after Franco's death. The last No-Do was produced in 1981 prior to the operation's absorption into RTVE, Spain's state-controlled television and radio broadcaster.The No-Do archive is an important asset of RTVE and is often mined for nostalgia programmes.[3]
In December 2012, the interactive media of RTVE digitized and launched the complete No-Do on the RTVE website, being able to be accessed for the first time by users around the world and not only by researchers. There are only five lost newsreels.[4]