Telemadrid
Encyclopedia
Telemadrid is the first autonomous public television station of Madrid and the fifth national station, after those of Catalonia
, Euskadi
, Galicia
and Andalusia
. It is affiliated with FORTA
since its inception, and it is a public channel that belongs exclusively to the autonomous government of Madrid. It began its broadcast on May 2, 1989, in Madrid. Since then, the programming has been dominated by educational programs directed towards the population of that region. Since Madrid is the capital of the country, it puts special emphasis on national political information.
, where it suffered a terrorist attack from the terrorist group at lunchtime of May 29 ,1993 GRAPO, yet suffered no victims. In fact, the event was covered live on Telemadrid. On March 11, 1997, they celebrated the opening of their current location, in the Ciudad de la Imagen, in Pozuelo de Alarcón
, Madrid. The building, which was called "special interest" on World Architecture Day in October 1997, holds all of the production centers for the radio-television entity.
The programming of Telemadrid has always revolved around the lives of madrileños, focusing on information, sports, children's programming, series and movies and politics. Some of their shows have been exported to other autonomous regional television stations, and even to other national television stations like "Buenos días, Madrid" or "Madrid Directo". During its lifetime, it has featured such shows as "La banda de Telemadrid", "Cyberclub", "Top Madrid", "Todo Madrid", "Gran Vía", "Fútbol es fútbol", and "En acción". Currently, the lineup of the station is made up of more than eight hours of information in many different formats: "Telenoticias", "Círculo a primera hora", "Alto y claro", "Diario de la noche", "Sucedió en Madrid", "En pleno Madrid", "Mi cámara y yo" y "Telenoticias sin fronteras". In addition, the station, has always broadcast sports ("En acción", "Madrid se mueve", "Fútbol es fútbol" and the national league - until 2006) and it has broadcast bullfighting programs and information.
(DTT). After a year in tests, on March 19, 2001, the President of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
, inaugurated the broadcast of laOtra
, a second autonomous channel exclusively for the DTT system. During its first years it focused on programs of cultural content, suggesting a new model of television with new formats, focused on music, literature, art, and modern sociopolitical movements. The principal programs were "Básico", "Central de sonidos", "Traslucúa", "De formas", "Otras entrevista", "Otra gente", "Uno más" and "La vieja ceremonia", among others.
Nevertheless, this second channel suffered a restructuring in 2006, when it began broadcasting in analog format. Since then, the old content of laOtra began to share airtime with reruns of the primary channel and with newscasts, sports, and children's shows. The analog broadcasting set the national and autonomous administrations at odds on several occasions, since laOtra began its analog broadcast without the permission of Spain's Ministry of Industry, who oversees the allocation of broadcast frequencies, and to whom the station had gone on previous occasions to obtain a license. The broadcast emissions were found to have originated from the facilities of a water company, Canal de Isabel Segunda, politically linked to the Community of Madrid. As of September 2006, Telemadrid' faces a fine of one million euros and the cancellation of laOtra if in fact it is considered just under Spanish law.
Many believe that this sanction hurts the Madrileños when compared with the citizens of other autonomous communities who already have two channels broadcast in analog format, like Euskadi, Andalusia, Valencia, or the Canary Islands, and even three, as in the case of Catalonia. Others by contrast believe that Telemadrid did not follow appropriate procedure and that consequently it should accept the closure of the channel.
of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, meaning it is funded by the regional government of Madrid. Since the arrival of Esperanza Aguirre
as the President of Madrid on October 17, 2003, many people have accused Aguirre of transforming Telemadrid into the mouthpiece of her party, the ruling party of Madrid, the Partido Popular
(PP). When Aguirre came to power, she hired Manuel Soriano to become the general director of Telemadrid. Soriano is a member of the PP and worked as press secretary of Aguirre when she was the Minister of Education and Culture during government of José María Aznar
.
Telemadrid's news broadcasts often express views critical of the current Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
, and his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
(PSOE). Telemadrid has been accused of being homophobic, xenophobic, anti-Basque, and anti-Catalan, as well as of promoting the platforms of the Partido Popular, like support of the War in Iraq and opposition to Same-sex marriage
.
The biggest controversy caused by Telemadrid was a documentary about 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
. In that documentary, it aired the conspiracy theory popular with the Spanish right-wing as a fact, that the Basque terrorist group, ETA
, was involved in the terrorist attack. It claimed that ETA helped Al Qaeda with the terrorist attack, even though the investigations of the attack have debunked the claims about ETA's involvement. The documentary was also sympathetic of former Prime Minister Aznar and the Partido Popular and their reaction of the attack, and it accused the PSOE of using the attack to win the 2004 Elections.
Telemadrid caused another big controversy in April 2007, when it aired a documentary called "Ciudadanos de segunda" (Second-class Citizens), which claimed that the Spanish language
and the people who speak it were being persecuted in Catalonia
in favor of the Catalan Language
. This documentary caused outrage in Catalonia's political spheres. Josep Piqué, the leader of the Catalan branch of the Pardido Popular, said that the documentary didn't represent the reality of Catalonia. Meanwhile, the independentist Catalonian party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
demanded that the Generalitat de Catalunya
respond to Telemadrid judicially, to no avail. Spanish nationalist Catalonian political parties such as Ciutadans de Catalunya
, however, stated that the documentary reflected was largely accurate .
Televisió de Catalunya
Televisió de Catalunya is Catalonia's public broadcasting network, officially composed by eight channels: TV3, 33, Super3, 3/24, 3XL, Esport 3, TV3 HD and TV3CAT. K3 was replaced by Super3 in 2009 and 300 was replaced by 3XL in 2010...
, Euskadi
Euskal Telebista
Euskal Irrati Telebista is the Basque Country's public broadcast service. Its main brand is Euskal Telebista ....
, Galicia
TVG
Televisión de Galicia , commonly known as A Galega , is the primary television channel of Galician public broadcaster Compañía de Radio Televisión de Galicia .-History:...
and Andalusia
Canal Sur
Canal Sur is part of Radio y Televisión de Andalucía , the public broadcasting company of Andalusia. It was created by means of the devolved powers given to this region by Act of Parliament by its statute of autonomy....
. It is affiliated with FORTA
FORTA
The Federation of Regional Organizations of Radio and Television is the association of the public broadcasting networks from 12 autonomous communities of Spain.-Members:*Extremadura's CEXMA has not joined the FORTA by self-decision...
since its inception, and it is a public channel that belongs exclusively to the autonomous government of Madrid. It began its broadcast on May 2, 1989, in Madrid. Since then, the programming has been dominated by educational programs directed towards the population of that region. Since Madrid is the capital of the country, it puts special emphasis on national political information.
First years
Telemadrid was created by the PSOE government (Spanish Socialist Party) when Joquin Leguina was the president of the Madrid Autonomous Region. During its first years, Telemadrid occupied the buildings of the Agencia EFEEFE
EFE is a Spanish news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray....
, where it suffered a terrorist attack from the terrorist group at lunchtime of May 29 ,1993 GRAPO, yet suffered no victims. In fact, the event was covered live on Telemadrid. On March 11, 1997, they celebrated the opening of their current location, in the Ciudad de la Imagen, in Pozuelo de Alarcón
Pozuelo de Alarcón
Pozuelo de Alarcón is a suburb of over 85,000 inhabitants near the city of Madrid, capital of Spain. It is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: la Casa de Campo, el Monte del Pardo and el Monte del Pilar...
, Madrid. The building, which was called "special interest" on World Architecture Day in October 1997, holds all of the production centers for the radio-television entity.
The programming of Telemadrid has always revolved around the lives of madrileños, focusing on information, sports, children's programming, series and movies and politics. Some of their shows have been exported to other autonomous regional television stations, and even to other national television stations like "Buenos días, Madrid" or "Madrid Directo". During its lifetime, it has featured such shows as "La banda de Telemadrid", "Cyberclub", "Top Madrid", "Todo Madrid", "Gran Vía", "Fútbol es fútbol", and "En acción". Currently, the lineup of the station is made up of more than eight hours of information in many different formats: "Telenoticias", "Círculo a primera hora", "Alto y claro", "Diario de la noche", "Sucedió en Madrid", "En pleno Madrid", "Mi cámara y yo" y "Telenoticias sin fronteras". In addition, the station, has always broadcast sports ("En acción", "Madrid se mueve", "Fútbol es fútbol" and the national league - until 2006) and it has broadcast bullfighting programs and information.
The digital era
The year 2001 marked a turning point in the history of the Ente Público Empresarial. Telemadrid became the first autonomous television station to utilize Digital terrestrial televisionDigital terrestrial television
Digital terrestrial television is the technological evolution of broadcast television and advance from analog television, which broadcasts land-based signals...
(DTT). After a year in tests, on March 19, 2001, the President of Madrid, Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón
Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón Jiménez is a Spanish politician and mayor of Madrid. A stalwart of the conservative People's Party , he has previously been a leading figure in various local and national legislative bodies.-Personal life:...
, inaugurated the broadcast of laOtra
LaOtra
laOtra is the second television channel from Telemadrid in Spain. Launched in 2001, the channel broadcast a range of cultural programming including music and art. After a restructuring in 2006, it now also broadcasts children's programming, news and information from Madrid, history documentaries,...
, a second autonomous channel exclusively for the DTT system. During its first years it focused on programs of cultural content, suggesting a new model of television with new formats, focused on music, literature, art, and modern sociopolitical movements. The principal programs were "Básico", "Central de sonidos", "Traslucúa", "De formas", "Otras entrevista", "Otra gente", "Uno más" and "La vieja ceremonia", among others.
Nevertheless, this second channel suffered a restructuring in 2006, when it began broadcasting in analog format. Since then, the old content of laOtra began to share airtime with reruns of the primary channel and with newscasts, sports, and children's shows. The analog broadcasting set the national and autonomous administrations at odds on several occasions, since laOtra began its analog broadcast without the permission of Spain's Ministry of Industry, who oversees the allocation of broadcast frequencies, and to whom the station had gone on previous occasions to obtain a license. The broadcast emissions were found to have originated from the facilities of a water company, Canal de Isabel Segunda, politically linked to the Community of Madrid. As of September 2006, Telemadrid' faces a fine of one million euros and the cancellation of laOtra if in fact it is considered just under Spanish law.
Many believe that this sanction hurts the Madrileños when compared with the citizens of other autonomous communities who already have two channels broadcast in analog format, like Euskadi, Andalusia, Valencia, or the Canary Islands, and even three, as in the case of Catalonia. Others by contrast believe that Telemadrid did not follow appropriate procedure and that consequently it should accept the closure of the channel.
Criticism and controversy
Telemadrid is the public broadcasterPublic broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
of the Autonomous Community of Madrid, meaning it is funded by the regional government of Madrid. Since the arrival of Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre
Esperanza Aguirre y Gil de Biedma, Countess of Murillo, Grandee of Spain, DBE is a Spanish politician and the current President of Madrid...
as the President of Madrid on October 17, 2003, many people have accused Aguirre of transforming Telemadrid into the mouthpiece of her party, the ruling party of Madrid, the Partido Popular
People's Party (Spain)
The People's Party is a conservative political party in Spain.The People's Party was a re-foundation in 1989 of the People's Alliance , a party led and founded by Manuel Fraga Iribarne, a former Minister of Tourism during Francisco Franco's dictatorship...
(PP). When Aguirre came to power, she hired Manuel Soriano to become the general director of Telemadrid. Soriano is a member of the PP and worked as press secretary of Aguirre when she was the Minister of Education and Culture during government of José María Aznar
José María Aznar
José María Alfredo Aznar López served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He is on the board of directors of News Corporation.-Early life:...
.
Telemadrid's news broadcasts often express views critical of the current Prime Minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero
José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is a member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party . He was elected for two terms as Prime Minister of Spain, in the 2004 and 2008 general elections. On 2 April 2011 he announced he will not stand for re-election in 2012...
, and his party, the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
(PSOE). Telemadrid has been accused of being homophobic, xenophobic, anti-Basque, and anti-Catalan, as well as of promoting the platforms of the Partido Popular, like support of the War in Iraq and opposition to Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage in Spain
Same-sex marriage in Spain has been legal since July 3, 2005. In 2004, the nation's newly elected social democratic government, led by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, began a campaign for its legalization, including the right of adoption by same-sex couples...
.
The biggest controversy caused by Telemadrid was a documentary about 11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
11 March 2004 Madrid train bombings
The Madrid train bombings consisted of a series of coordinated bombings against the Cercanías system of Madrid, Spain on the morning of 11 March 2004 , killing 191 people and wounding 1,800...
. In that documentary, it aired the conspiracy theory popular with the Spanish right-wing as a fact, that the Basque terrorist group, ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
, was involved in the terrorist attack. It claimed that ETA helped Al Qaeda with the terrorist attack, even though the investigations of the attack have debunked the claims about ETA's involvement. The documentary was also sympathetic of former Prime Minister Aznar and the Partido Popular and their reaction of the attack, and it accused the PSOE of using the attack to win the 2004 Elections.
Telemadrid caused another big controversy in April 2007, when it aired a documentary called "Ciudadanos de segunda" (Second-class Citizens), which claimed that the Spanish language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and the people who speak it were being persecuted in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
in favor of the Catalan Language
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
. This documentary caused outrage in Catalonia's political spheres. Josep Piqué, the leader of the Catalan branch of the Pardido Popular, said that the documentary didn't represent the reality of Catalonia. Meanwhile, the independentist Catalonian party Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya
The Republican Left of Catalonia is a left wing Catalan independentist political party in Spain. It is also the main sponsor of the independence movement from France and Spain in the territories known among Catalan nationalists as Països Catalans...
demanded that the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
respond to Telemadrid judicially, to no avail. Spanish nationalist Catalonian political parties such as Ciutadans de Catalunya
Citizens – Party of the Citizenry
The Citizens – Party of the Citizenry is a Spanish political party which describes itself as centre-left and non-nationalist...
, however, stated that the documentary reflected was largely accurate .
External links
- Telemadrid Official web
- laOtra official web
- FORTA official web
- Comunidad de Madrid official web
- Salvemos Telemadrid - a website created by the employees of Telemadrid, fighting for the impartiality of the network