to allow those surveyed to include their own comments and reflections on the problems raised, which has been highly useful in identifying the concerns and assessments of those surveyed regarding the situation of the Spanish and Valencian communication and audio-visual sector.

3.3. Results of the 2019 survey

Finally, in April of 2019, a new survey was carried out, this time incorporating aspects related to the reputational problem of the Valencian communication system, which are features that have been modified over the years. The survey was aimed at the same professional groups and also served to compare the results of 2015 and 2017, because in 2019 the new Valencian public media had already been in existence for more than a year. These media are an essential “driving force” for the development of the public-private media system and the development of Valencia’s culture industries (Prado, 2015; Marzal-Felici & Soler-Campillo, 2015). As we have pointed out, 93 responses were obtained from this survey

The figure of 59% of those surveyed said that communication in its broadest sense, or in other words, encompassing everything that has to do with information, entertainment, advertising and institutional communication, receives only mediocre social recognition in the Valencian Region.

The percentage of 38% consider that this situation is more negative in the Valencian Region than in the rest of Spain.

The figure of 73% agree that in the most advanced OECD countries (United States, Canada, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc.), there is greater awareness of the relevance of communication as a tool for economic progress, social welfare and democratic health than in Spain.

Nearly 82% consider the situation to be negative or very negative with regard to media that have nation-wide coverage, as these media companies have been a factor in lowering the prestige of the professions related to communication (professional roles such as journalist, advertiser, scriptwriter, director, producer, director of communication, etc.).

When assessing whether the restoration of the Valencian public media corporation, À Punt Mèdia, has contributed to improving the reputation of Valencia’s communication and audio-visual professions, 44% consider that nothing or little has changed.

Nearly 82% of the respondents rated negatively or very negatively the fact that the professional areas of communi-cation –news reporting, advertising, institutional communication, and entertainment– are so closely dependent on political activity

From these results, one can see that among communication professionals in the Valencian Region there is quite a negative perception of the reputation of the professions linked to communication, unlike that of more advanced countries, a situation that has not been improved through actions by the state or local media, nor even by the recently created À Punt Mèdia, which is the trading company of the newly created Valencian Media Corporation (CVMC).

3.3.1. Analysis of the initiatives to improve the reputation of the communications sector: MESAV and AVAV

In the 2019 survey, questions were asked regarding the role played by the Valencian Audio-visual Sector Board, known as MESAV (created in 2014 after the RTVV closure), and the Valencian Audio-Visual Academy created in 2018. With regard