This morning, while checking my visit statistics, I noticed that I was getting a lot of hits from this Spanish-language news article. After getting it translated through Babblefish I saw that it was about the use of 9/11 imagery in a newspaper's advertising campaign a few days ago. The article also pointed to this editorial from El Pais, the newspaper in question, which contains the apology.

Here's a rather imperfectly translated excerpt:

The COUNTRY requests pardon by the use of the images of the attack against the Twin Towers of New York, happened the 11 of September of 2001, for a campaign of pick up of subscribers to ELPAIS.es. This lamentable campaign, made through messages by electronic mail, leaned in two photographies of New York, one with the Twin Towers and another one without them, under the title "a day gives for much. Imagínese which can happen in three months ". The promotion the past began Monday, 13 of September, and was sent more than 50,000 adressees before its cancellation, Wednesday day 15.

The COUNTRY, its publishing company and the Group Haste are sorry deeply that a tragedy has been used like advertising support, that in this case cost the life to more than 2,700 people. We asked pardon for that reason to the victims and their relatives, the citizens of New York who lived that aggression more directly, to whatever have seen invaded its electronic mail by so ominous message, and to the readers all of the newspaper.

Any explanation is insufficient before the chain of errors that has taken to the launching of this campaign, that some of our readers have described with justice as repugnant. We shared the rejection which they have expressed in numerous messages and letters to the director and lamented the happened thing.

The group HASTE has opened an internal investigation to clarify how it was decided to put in circulation this promotional campaign and to adopt the suitable measures. Of immediate way it has requested to the company in charge of the electronic buzoneo that goes to all the adressees of the campaign to request excuses.

The COUNTRY wants to express once again, since it has made it in his 28 years of life and throughout his almost 10,000 numbers, its solidarity without fissures with the victims of the terrorism. As it said the publishing article of the COUNTRY of the 12 of September of 2001 and we ratified today in all his terms, those attacks reached to all the biennacidos citizens, without distinction of continent borders nor, and constituted an attack "against those who we such shared democratic principles that in our country as much cost to obtain".

The attempted Barbarians who soon have followed one another anywhere in the world, among other places in Madrid, have not done but to confirm the necessity of an attitude signs and democratic before the terrorism, of which it must be excluded all irresponsible use from this type of events.

See CBS? That's how you correct a mistake.

I'm rather pleased that Say Anything was a part of this apology. When I posted it I never thought the Spanish media would read it, let alone take action. But its obvious from the article that they read more than one reaction in the blogosphere. Just more proof that bloggers really are quite influential.

Barcepundit, who originated this story, has more.