Both newspapers fundamentally prioritise three types of source: corresponding to the research and/or academic field, medical-healthcare and nutritionists/dieticians. These three sectors provide 52.9% of the quotes in the case of elpais.com and 54.7% in lavanguardia.com. However, whilst elpais.com gives weighting to sources from the research and/or academic field (25.4%), lavanguardia.com tends to favour nutritionists (20%).

At the other extreme, there are the consumer associations (around 1.5% in both online newspapers) and the different NGOs and non-profit-making Foundations (under 3.5% of the two publications). Certain scientific publications get greater attention. In the case of elpais.com, the most quotes come from journals in the medical field, such as The Lancet (4 references), Pediatrics (2) and JAMA Pediatrics (2). In lavanguardia.com, the publications most used as a source are American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (in 3 texts), Cell Metabolism (3) and Journal of the American College of Cardiology (2).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is the most quoted reference in both media. A trio of nutritionists are often used by elpais.com, comprising Juan Revenga, Aitor Sánchez and Julio Basulto; the latter two also contribute to the newspapers. All three are known for their dissemination work through their respective blogs “El nutricionista de la General” (https://juanrevenga.com/), “Mi dieta cojea” (https://www.midietacojea.com) and https://juliobasulto.com. The same newspaper also features Miguel Ángel Uruñuela, author of the blog “Gominolas de petróleo” (http://www.gominolasdepetroleo.com). In lavanguardia.com, the nutritionist Marta Sanz and doctor Raquel Nogués, from the Teknon Medical Centre, are often featured.

Table 11: The 10 most quoted sources in the texts in both newspapers.

Source: Compiled by author.