Elena Sánchez assumes the interim presidency of RTVE

Spanish Radio Television returns once again to an interim situation. This Tuesday, the Board of Directors elected Elena Sánchez Caballero as provisional president of the Corporation after the resignation of José Manuel Pérez Tornero. The journalist, with a long career in public television, has received the support of two of the three PSOE councilors, and the representatives of Unidas Podemos and PNV, with the PP rejecting her appointment.

The resignation as president of José Manuel Pérez Tornero, instead of waiting for his dismissal, thus opened the doors to prevent Parliament from once again initiating a new selection process, leaving the new interim presidency of the Board of Directors itself.

Elena Sánchez served as general secretary at RTVE precisely in another interim period similar to the one that opens now that she led Rosa María Mateo as sole administrator between July 27, 2018 and March 26, 2021. Her mandate ended almost three years later, after the appointment of the now resigned Pérez Tornero.

He News Council of RTVE has issued a statement this Tuesday in which it expresses its “deep concern” “in the face of a scenario of blockade, with a lack of project and with no one at the helm.” “If the present or immediate movements in RTVE have the objective of subjecting this public service to partisan interests, the workers will not allow it,” they say.

They also admit "a context of loss of citizen support, reflected in low audiences, and with its brand and identity discredited by the continuous harassment and public mistreatment it receives. Among others, by political parties."

The News Council marks the balance of the presidency of Pérez Tornero of little positive since "his management has been marked by the total absence of a project, instability in the management and by some regrettable episodes of exceeding his powers, trying to influence the story of the News News, encountering opposition from the journalists and editors-in-chief of this house."

Furthermore, they emphasize that Pérez Tornero's team has continued with "a worrying outsourcing of information programs, and that it must be reversed as soon as possible."

House Journalist

The new interim president, Elena Sánchez, was born in Madrid in 1957, she has a degree in Journalism from the Complutense University. After working as a journalist since 1979 in different public and private media (Diario 16, Antena 3 Radio and Agencia EFE), she joined the sports area of RTVE in 1984 and in 1987 obtained a position as editor by competitive examination.

For 37 years he was in front of the cameras presenting and directing news programs, current affairs programs and debates on La 1, La 2 and Canal 24 Horas. She has also been a reporter for Weekly Report y Chronicles, and has directed biographical documentaries in Essentials. She created the Audience Defense body in 2008 and directed it until 2014. In August 2018 she was appointed general secretary of the Corporation, a position that she left by her own decision in September 2020.