Gemma Nierga, Carlos Francino, and Ricard Ustrell, National Communication Awards
Oscar Muñoz, journalist from La Vanguardia, receives him posthumously.
BarcelonaThe Generalitat has awarded the National Communication Award in the radio category ex aequo to the presenter ofThe morning of Catalunya Ràdio, Ricard Ustrell, and veteran journalist Carles Francino, now at the head of The window from Cadena SER, the same program that hosted the award-winning television category Gemma Nierga, who now presents the Ideas Cafe to La 2. The national awards, which correspond to the year 2024, are the highest recognition for excellence in the field of communication in Catalonia or in the Catalan language.
Ustrell is recognized for his "generational and risky commitment in both formats and content" that has renewed Catalan radio storytelling. Francino is highlighted for his "rigor, proximity, and civic commitment" and four decades of professional service "without ever renouncing ethics or truth." Nierga is celebrated for his "solid career, his ability to listen, and his rigorous, empathetic, and intelligent communication style." The executive board also posthumously awarded the print press award to the journalist from The Vanguard Oscar Muñoz, died on April 18 and that had been a reference for information about Barcelona with a "critical and constructive view" from the section Live. They recognize him as "an example of vocation, integrity and humanity."
The awards include seven categories for the first time, and for the first time a National Honor Award that the Generalitat (Generalitat) grants this year to the station EAJ-1 Radio Barcelona, the first official radio station in Spain, "for its decisive contribution to the development of radio in Catalonia." There is also a new award for digital communication, which has been awarded to the La Xarxa+ platform, which primarily supplies local antennas with quality content and strategic events, such as castles, traditional events and sports.
The awards in the categories of proximity communication and advertising and corporate communication are maintained. The first goes to the Tarragona Diary, which has 215 years of history, and the second also has two award winners ex aequo: CEO of Both, Cristina Salvador, and the podcast Cancer 360º, driven by the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and conducted by journalist Adam Martín, for the dissemination of cancer research.
The National Communication Awards were created in 1999 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first regular radio broadcast in Catalonia. The awards will be presented on July 4 in Tarragona for the first time outside of Barcelona.
