The collapse of 'Collapse'
The Telenotícies vespre on Saturday, with Joan Raventós at the helm in the absence of Raquel Sans, explained the violent riots of that same day in Plaça Catalunya in Barcelona. At the time of saying goodbye, the presenter addressed the audience who wanted to continue getting informed: “Events that we will continue to follow, as it cannot be otherwise, from the channel and the 3CatInfo application”.
It is exactly that. It could not be any other way because Col·lapse, which came next, was recorded. And while other Spanish channels delved into the riots, Jordi González's program lived in a parallel reality. Around eleven o'clock at night, a caption crossed the screen announcing the appearance of the Minister of Interior and the Mayor of Barcelona while we watched Àngel Llàcer and Carlos Latre trying to be funny. Finally, TV3 cut the broadcast to connect with 3CatInfo. Thank goodness. Journalist Laura Solé took over the coverage, with good live connections from Anna Teixidor and Víctor Prats from the center of Barcelona. After the statements by Parlón and Collboni, we returned to the alternative world of Col·lapse.
Meanwhile, on laSexta Xplica they did pay special attention to the riots, with live connections and very notable and shocking images of the destruction and looting. Also of the people locked inside El Corte Inglés. They were the first to show the recruitment messages for the young people, they spoke about the Blocus movement and the dress codes they required. They interviewed witnesses to the looting and provided provisional figures for those detained. In parallel, on RTVE's Malas lenguas they also connected live with Tania Garralda. During the report, some hooded individuals pushed the journalist from the left while on the right a flustered young girl tried to get into the shot to put her two cents in. The program analyzed the events and later interviewed Ada Colau. A connection that did not leave the former mayor in a good light, because she seemed unaware of the level of violence in Plaça Catalunya. Although she was on the street and police vans passed behind her, she kept talking about the Ministry of Equality, pensions, and the Broad Front. And when they asked her about the riots, she insisted on referring to the exemplary demonstrations of the last week and the social unrest, oblivious to the gravity of the images of Plaça Catalunya that were being broadcast simultaneously on the split screen.
Every time there is a news emergency situation, TV3 seems to improvise haphazardly, at the mercy of a 3CatInfo that conveys a feeling of bare minimums. The presenter on duty who has to deal with the news seems helpless and swallowed up by the tyranny of the news cycle. If when current events demand more urgency and ambition the result is this poor, the journalistic discredit of public television is worrying. Taking into account all the self-promotion and the investment that the Corporation made with the renewal of the news programs, perhaps they should remember that things could indeed be done differently.
