Journalism, upside down
The death of the pontiff is one of those events that mobilizes the world's press. Journalistic inertia remains unchanged from previous papal deaths. On Monday, the urgency of the various media outlets to get their special envoys to the Vatican was evident. Offering images of journalists at the scene, in front of St. Peter's Basilica, becomes a kind of informative guarantee. At the time, this was the way to obtain accurate and verified information. It was necessary to be close to the official source and their closest circle. But, over the years, technology has radically transformed the way information is circulated. Correspondents and special envoys are no longer the ones with the quickest access to the most relevant information. We saw this on Monday, in the afternoon special on La 1. Marta Carazo, presenter of the Newscast, and Sagrario Ruiz de Apodaca, special envoy to Rome, were in the Vatican. But to explain the latest information about Pope Francis's last wishes regarding his funeral and burial, they had to read them from their cell phones to the viewers. Immediately after closing the connection, journalist Alejandra Herranz offered the audience the statement on the cause of the pontiff's death from the studio: the cause of death was being reported from Madrid.
On Antena 3, the same thing happened on Sonsoles Ónega's program. While veteran correspondent Antonio Pelayo questioned the actual time of Francis's death and recounted anecdotes linked to previous pontiffs, the presenter, from Madrid, interrupted him to inform him of the events planned at the Vatican: from collective prayer in the square to the ceremonies. Minutes later, as the correspondent himself speculated about the procedures postmortem that would be carried out on the Pope's body and the rituals usually applied to the corpse, Sonsoles had to interrupt him again to tell him that she had already officially announced the cause of death. The correspondent was celebrating the release of the information.
Journalism works the other way around. It's becoming easier to access sources and breaking news from miles away than from the scene, where the environment forces journalists to pay attention to other aspects. Being present allows for interesting news reports, conducting interviews, observing the environment with an analytical eye, and explaining details that can only be captured through firsthand testimony. Reporters remain essential figures, but perhaps we need to escape the hieratic postcard position in front of a building to recite the news that everyone else has thousands of miles away and consider how being on the scene makes a difference and allows for a more personal and exclusive perspective.