A long-awaited sabbatical led Jordi González (Barcelona, 60 years old) away from television, also as a viewer. Upon his return, his more than two-decade-old company, Mediaset, had undergone radical changes, making him one of the star faces of the increasingly competitive TVE. After her summer stay at Lazos de Sangre, she is already preparing an evening program with which she will compete every afternoon from La 1 to Ana Rosa Quintana (Telecinco) and Sonsoles Ónega (Antena 3). And the public broadcaster suspects, although still without official approval, that it will be entrusted with a slot for the weekend’s prime time, similar to its successful La Noria.
The presenter shows irony in his home in a luxury urbanization in Pozuelo de Alarcón, just a few minutes from the scenes of the Prado del Rey. His four dogs rule his home: Ginebra, Antonia, Taylor and Lola, between one and six years old.
Questions: How did your move to TVE come about?
Answer: The director of originals at RTVE, Ana María Bordas, called me and said that we had to talk about several projects. The most immediate was Blood Ties [que emite en las noches de los martes]. I was looking forward to returning to TVE where I started. I’m still very lucky, my life has always been lucky.
Q He had been talking about a gap year in Australia for years, but it never came.
R When my father got sick, I threw it away. Although he passed away, I thought this time I would spend my free time visiting Japan, learning to cook, perfecting my English and getting in shape. I didn’t do any of that, but I traveled a lot, read two books a week, rested and met a lot of people.
Many years ago there were only three things we were not allowed to speak critically about: the royal family, the fight against ETA and El Corte Inglés.
Q And he didn’t watch TV.
R No, except for the news. I spent a long time in Brazil and Colombia following the news there. And of course I consume the à la carte content of the platforms that exist around the world.
Q What will general television look like after streaming platforms like Prime Video go live with Operación Triunfo?
R For now, it remains a free option. The radio knew how to adapt; TV didn’t kill her. There is one thing about general television that we will never give up, and that is keeping people company. Furthermore, it is the generalists who continue to keep us up to date with what is happening in the world.
Q How do you remember your jump from radio to television in the mid-1980s?
R I started out at Los 40 Principales and then came to a program called Brigade 8-2-8 for citizen grievances. The then head of RTVE programs in Catalonia called me. He was a listener and wanted to offer me something on TV. When we met, he told me without any sensitivity: “Too bad you’re never on TV because you have a scarred face… I thought you were normal.” You can’t go in front of the camera with those scars. Luckily he didn’t blow my self-esteem, but I was young and believed what he told me. Shortly thereafter, another director of RTVE called me with another offer. I told him it wasn’t necessary because I couldn’t watch TV because of my scars. When he saw me he told me that he didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be on screen. That man was Joan Ramón Mainat, one of my best friends and who made me present La Palmera for years.
There is one thing about general television that we will never give up, and that is keeping people company
Q It is said that on television there is little tact with the subject of the picture.
R There was a boss, whose name I don’t want to give, who said to a presenter, “Come back with 25 pounds.” He forced another to put on breasts.
Q Jorge Javier Vázquez tells that Paolo Vasile forced him to wear glasses without prescription, without prescription.
R He underwent surgery for myopia and when he went to present Here’s a Tomato without his glasses, Vasile told him to put them on because he looked like a bad person and a son of a bitch. It must be a huge money saver getting a laser in your eye and then experiencing it.
Q Jorge Javier recently explained that his relationship with Vasile was one of love-hate and parent-child closeness. How was it with you with the manager?
R Neither love nor hate. It was a very warm and polite relationship. In almost 25 years it only caught my attention once. That was because I allowed Jimmy Giménez Arnau to make fun of the Virgin Mary in La Noria. Vasile called my office on Monday and told me: “Did you think that there are Catholics among our shareholders? Is it necessary to offend shareholders? I realized it was true. There is no need to condone insults. Everything has changed a lot. Can you now imagine a program called Moros y cristianos?
Jordi González at his home in Madrid with one of his dogs, Ginebra.Santi Burgos
Q Speaking of being politically correct, why do you think Mediaset places so much emphasis on ethics?
R It’s a private company. Mediaset doesn’t cost me any money, so you can do whatever you want. I would not do it. I don’t believe in censorship, although I believe in self-censorship. The people you work with must be trustworthy. And if you trust them, they don’t need a manual to work either. Many years ago there were only three things we were not allowed to speak critically about: the royal family, the fight against ETA and El Corte Inglés. They were taboo subjects. I believe this code of ethics is temporary in nature.
Q And what role should public television, which costs us money, play?
R It has to entertain. It should be reported as aseptically as possible, although I don’t think there is objectivity because we are not objects but subjects. I do think it’s journalism that uses few adjectives and allows viewers to use them. And the training thing on TV seems like a chimera to me.
Q What would you recommend to Ion Aramendi, assuming his role as moderator of the Survivor and Big Brother debates?
R Don’t take life too seriously. When I did, I realized I looked like a histrion. I sit on the viewer’s eardrum and there’s this group of nobodies screaming all at once and polluting the broadcast… When I raised my voice to stop it, I realized he seemed hysterical.
My relationship with Vasile was very cordial and polite. In almost 25 years it only caught my attention once.
Q His first calling was that of a teacher, and in these debates he partially fulfilled that calling by constantly telling people to shut up. Did you feel good?
R He was kind of a repressive teacher, which I hate. Employees want to say everything they think and feel in the first five minutes. It is necessary to distinguish between debates about ideas and debates about emotions. The emotions are much more difficult to moderate, but they are undoubtedly the ones that work best on television. This concept was one of the things that Mainat created on TV with Moors and Christians. Was Feijóo and Sánchez’s emotions or ideas?
Q Carlota Corredera said in that newspaper that she lost her position on television for speaking about gender-based violence and feminism in prime time. And Ana Rosa Quintana recently denounced being among the journalists suffering “real harassment” at the hands of power.
R Carlota has guided me in the TNT program and I have always had a very good relationship with her. Your reasons have to believe it, but many other people have been talking about these issues on TV lately, and they haven’t disappeared from TV. And Ana Rosa says she’s upset because she’s seen as a right-wing media. There is nothing wrong with this term. One is free to be on the right. The worst thing would be if they thought you were undemocratic. What is certain is that a politician cannot scold a journalist. Pujol’s villain came out with the catchphrase, “No, this is not the right time.” It was a very rude way of denying journalists the right to ask questions.
Q Have social networks made everything more intense and controversial?
R Networks are a minefield. The first casualty, if we talk about injuries taking their toll, was precisely Jorge Javier when he said Sálvame is a red and fag program. It was an ironic comment, which he paid for at the time because his sentence was reproduced out of context on the internet. Without demonizing the internet, all that social audience stuff is bullshit. When a TV director makes decisions based on trending themes, I think they’re wrong. Twitter is not only overrated on a financial level, but also on an influence level.
Q Politics, especially the independence movement, has caused a rupture in his family.
R I am not independent. my brother yes And we haven’t talked about it in years. But I am in favor of putting the issue to a referendum. I would vote no, but would have liked to have been asked. Now I can’t answer anymore. I pay a lot of tribute and the day all the corruption of Pujol was discovered I decided I wouldn’t put another penny into it. I registered in Madrid, where I actually lived.
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