Esther Mucientes Madrid

Madrid

Updated Monday,15January2024-21:19

  • Mediaset Telecinco's "wiggle" to its news programs and its 'culprits': "What would be the point of doing what others are already doing"
  • Television Pedro Piqueras takes over from Carlos Franganillo: "Getting closer to the truth is a heroic task"
  • La 1 RTVE already has a replacement for Carlos Franganillo: Marta Carazo, an "all-rounder" journalist

"It takes tenacity, a lot of work and asking and asking and asking." This is part of the declaration of principles that Marta Carazo has imposed on herself for the "great challenge" that lies ahead: to present RTVE's Telediario 2 and replace one of the most valued, respected and loved journalists by the profession and by viewers, Carlos Franganillo.

Marta Carazo made her debut last night as the new face of La 1's evening newscast. We spoke to her as she had just landed from Brussels, a few weeks before her big premiere. I hadn't even unpacked my bags and I had the house and almost my life on my shoulders. Two of her three children and her husband, in Brussels; the third, in Madrid; and she, stepping back into the newsroom of RTVE to be at the head of the most important news programme of the public channel. Fear? "No, rather vertigo."

Television

Television.

Pedro Piqueras takes over from Carlos Franganillo: "Getting closer to the truth is a heroic task"

  • Written by: ESTHER MUCIENTES Madrid
  • Written by: PHOTOGRAPHS: ALBERTO DI LOLLI

Pedro Piqueras takes over from Carlos Franganillo: "Getting closer to the truth is a heroic task"

The secret of Telecinco's "wiggle" to its newscasts: "We're not going to fill the set with blood to gain an audience"

  • Written by: ESTHER MUCIENTES Madrid

The secret of Telecinco's "wiggle" to its newscasts: "We're not going to fill the set with blood to gain an audience"

Supported by the Public Corporation, this journalist, who has worked in public television for 25 years, received the proposal like a bucket of cold water. He didn'texpect it and didn't have much time to think either. RTVE had to find a replacement for Carlos Franganillo – Mediaset's star signing to direct Telecinco's news and who also premiered last night – someone solvent, someone from the house, someone with credibility and who knew not only how to inform but also how to understand what he reported.

Marta Carazo has a very clear declaration of principles: "The Telediario is not there to editorialize", but we must "bet, apart from my effort, to know how to transmit what we do and for people to connect with me". In fact, it was that connection that made the public entity see Marta Carazo as the perfect replacement.

"RTVE's news offer is a very complex puzzle with different pieces that have to fit together and be recognizable," says Josep Vilar, RTVE's Director of News. "We all try to work harmoniously. A work that aims to be honest, rigorous and with all the credibility. Endorsed by the audience, but above all by its relevance", he insists, and assures that "it is not an easy job, which needs a good information driver, who must have credibility and that is what Marta Carazo has".

How do you feel in this new role where the news is you? Well, weird, I'm not going to lie to you. Weird, weird, weird. It's weird because I'm usually on the other side. But well, I'm also excited to come, to the project and to do something different here. I really want to try to tell what I can. What did they say to you when they called you? It's all been very intense. What did they tell me? 'Do you know Carlos's gone?' I told them that of course I knew and they told me that they had thought that I was a good candidate to replace him, partly because I was that person who has been trained here in everything and because of the visibility I had in Brussels and that they liked my way of telling things and working. in short, that it seemed like the right bet to you. Was it difficult for you to make the decision? It's been hard for me because it's a very risky bet and you have to want to take it. I didn't dream of being a TV anchor or a news anchor. In addition, on a personal level there is my family and Brussels is such a complicated correspondent that really when a year passes is when you start to know where the air is coming from. When two pass, you're already handling yourself well. And by the third you're like a fish in water. No, it hasn't been easy, to be honest, but the scales had to be tipped up. In the end, it's a luxury to be able to try to do something with the news, a bit from another point of view.

In Brussels I worked 14 hours a day, but in the midst of exhaustion you have a good time and you make news that gets your adrenaline pumping

Are you going to miss the European Councils? Yes, of course. A lot of work is being done in Brussels. I think I'm going to live better here. In Brussels I worked 14 hours a day, but in the midst of exhaustion you have a good time and you make news that gets your adrenaline pumping. It's all very intense and I'm a very emotional person and I liked that a lot. Do you know who's going to be your replacement? No, I don't know. It has not yet been decided, but it is a correspondent that cannot be left empty. You were offered to present the news when Ana Blanco left and you said no, why now? I had already been in Brussels for three and a half years and at some point I had to consider coming back. What I've told you before, Brussels is very intense, but it's also very exhausting, and physically I was tired. And then Telediario 2 also incorporates that format of specials that is so important to me. In addition to the day-to-day life of the Telediario, which I really want.

Although Marta Carazo is still landing, she knows she needs the help of the entire newsroom. In fact, the journalist has not taken over the edition of the Telediario, she will collaborate, but she will continue in the hands of Luis Pollo, something very important for her because "they are a very solvent team and for me that the same team continued was a guarantee".

What did you think when you found out that Carlos Franganillo was going to Telecinco? I was surprised, as was everyone else. I'm good friends with Carlos and the next day we talked on the phone and I thought it was normal because of how good a professional he is and what a good person he is that the opportunity came to him. It seems to me entirely respectable that everyone chooses their own path. He has been very fortunate, like me, to have a school like Televisión Española. For me the best. Now you're going to be rivals. Maybe we'll make jokes the next day (Laughs) No, really... I've been very lucky that here I haven't had to measure myself by the audience practically ever. Apart from the fact that I'm not a person who keeps an eye on hearings. I think the great luck of working in public television is that you have to make the best product possible. We have the luxury of doing things that other TVs can't afford. Dedicate minutes to a topic, more complete, more contextualized things... That must continue to be done. We'll try to do our best, but it's not a competition at all. And Carlos will have his challenge and I will have mine.

It is up to the Public Corporation to ensure that public television functions as it should

RTVE's news programmes are always in the spotlight, are you scared? It gives me responsibility rather than fear. I've been here for many years and I've lived through better, worse, wonderful and horrible periods, but for me the quality of the news and the good work has always been in the professional quality of whoever was in charge, regardless of whether it was from one side or the other. I know we're under scrutiny, but I hope I can stay in the center, as I think we need to do. I am aware that there will be criticism of public television and that my face will come out, but that is inevitable. And how do you see this stage of RTVE? It's an interesting stage. I come from abroad, far from national politics and for me it is a challenge in which we are going to see many things and the challenge has to be to tell them well. And what about the Public Corporation? Maybe I'll answer that in a while. What I know is that you have to be balanced and go toe-to-toe with the viewer, who wants you to tell them everything. It is up to the Corporation to ensure that public television works as it should: rigorously and focused on what the viewer needs.