À Punt demotes the meteorologist who warned of the DANA storm and was critical of Mazón

BarcelonaThe management of the Valencian Community's Audiovisual Corporation, which runs the public television channel À Punt, has decided to demote the channel's head of meteorology, Victoria Rosselló, who became known for her early warnings about the severity of the DANA storm of October 29, 2024, and for denouncing the government's lack of response on air. "I've seen many DANA storms, and I can assure you I've never seen one like this," she warned long before the Valencian government alerted the public. The Workers' Commissions (CCOO) union points out that the meteorologist's demotion, which has materialized in the elimination of her department head position, is part of a broader process of job cuts within the public television network, unilaterally approved by the company. "The company communicated that new staff positions had to be created and that, therefore, while maintaining the total payroll, it would have to eliminate positions," the CCOO statement reads. A total of 29 positions are being eliminated, and in exchange, the network's management intends to create 31 new ones, but the position of head of meteorology is not among them. On the contrary, the list of new positions only includes one meteorologist position. This means Rosselló could continue doing her job, but not as head of department.

The decision by À Punt's management has been criticized by the official service of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in the Valencian Community. "Victoria Rosselló Botey is one of the great figures in the history of Valencian meteorology and, currently, one of its most important references," they stated on their social media account. The Valencian Association of Meteorology (Avamet) also praised the work of À Punt's head of meteorology. "His appearance on À Punt, during the tragic midday of October 29, warning people not to leave their homes or drive, saved many lives," he recalls.

Francesc Mauri, a meteorologist for TV3, has also defended Rosselló. "You do your job perfectly and they demote you. Others do a terrible job, to put it mildly, and they keep going. Disgusting! All my support, Victoria!" he told X.

Offensive against the language

Beyond the Rosselló case, the 29 job cuts at À Punt primarily affect the language department, a decision that unions view as a "clearly ideological move based on a vicious attack against the Valencian language and its public service function." In total, according to the unions, two language technician positions and four language advisor positions are being eliminated from the ten that existed until now. This reduces the Valencian public television's language team from twelve members to six. None of the positions slated to be created are linked to the language department.

The cuts to the language department come just months after Francisco Aura's appointment as director of À Punt. An internal report from the new management, leaked this September, indicated that One of the objectives of Valencian television should be "to increase the audience in Spanish" From the news programs.

The ideological drift of À Punt has led to four journalists leaving the channel, invoking their right to conscience.