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Journalists’ Empowerment Through Protest in the Newsroom and Beyond: How the Viernes Negros Movement Reshaped the Independence of the Spanish Public Television

Abstract:

Drawing upon 45 in-depth interviews and heterogeneous focus groups with workers at Spanish public television (TVE), this study explores how journalists and feminist activists jointly have interacted to create and manage a movement (Viernes Negros) to preserve their professional independence and demand the transparent appointment of TVE’s president through a public process. Specifically, we illustrate the evolution, leadership, and strategies for participation in this mobilization, elaborating on the crucial role of MujeresRTVE (MujeresRTVE is a movement that emerged in relation to the 2018 Women's Day and promotes the values of independence, quality and gender perspective at RTVE; Rosa María Mateo Isasi is an award-winning journalist and newscast anchorwoman. She was named as a temporary sole administrator of RTVE on July 27, 2018, which means she holds the powers of both the presidency and the management board of RTVE, remaining in charge to this date) in structuring and legitimizing the protest. This study contributes to current discussions on the independence of the public service broadcasting, arguing that newsroom aims might be more effectively implemented when actively led by newsworkers.