The creator of 678 recalled Beatriz Sarlo’s appearance: “She tore us apart”
Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
At a glance
In-depth
Named sources
Context piece
- Television producer Diego Gvirtz said Beatriz Sarlo’s 2011 appearance on the political program 678 was its best episode, despite her sharp criticism of the show.
- Gvirtz said Sarlo’s challenges strengthened the program’s journalism and described tensions with the Kirchner government over editorial control.
- During the broadcast, Sarlo accused 678 of presenting a one-sided account of Spanish media coverage of the Indignados protests and rejected suggestions that others dictated her views.
Diego Gvirtz does not remember Beatriz Sarlo’s appearance on 678 as a defeat. He remembers it as the program’s strongest episode, precisely because the intellectual and essayist attacked the show’s own way of reporting.
It was great that they destroyed us. The best program of 678 was the one Sarlo came on. We didn’t lose: she tore us apart, she killed us.
“It was great that they destroyed us. The best program of 678 was the one Sarlo came on. We didn’t lose: she tore us apart, she killed us,” Gvirtz said in an interview with El Destape Radio. For the producer, the presence of a critical voice mattered in a program identified with defending Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s government.
Gvirtz argued that disagreement made the content stronger. “What is the problem with dissent?” he said, adding that Sarlo had accepted the invitation from the outset. He said the real problem with her participation involved Cristina Kirchner, who, he believed, never forgave him for it.
What is the problem with dissent?
The producer also described the pressure he said he faced while running the program. “They put a chief of staff over me to control me, Juan Manuel Abal Medina. He was there to control me, to control the content of my programs,” Gvirtz said.
They put a chief of staff over me to control me, Juan Manuel Abal Medina. He was there to control me, to control the content of my programs.
Sarlo’s 2011 appearance began with a 678 report about the alleged bias of Spanish media coverage of protests by the Indignados movement at Madrid’s Puerta del Sol. Invited to discuss the influence of political and economic elites on the media, Sarlo used the report as an example of what she considered partial journalism. “This report about press coverage is what I think of the reports on this program: excerpts with the sources missing, always repeating the same messages,” she said. She added that the segment was “a hash of the worst of the media.” When Gabriel Mariotto suggested that media executive Héctor Magnetto’s editorials provided her talking points, Sarlo replied: “No one gives me my lines, so don’t be insolent.”
No one gives me my lines, so don’t be insolent.
About this summary
Originally published by La Nación in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
More Stories
From Our Blog
What Gets Lost (and Found) When News Is Translated
The Critical Role of Diaspora Media in Global News
What Travellers Should Know About Countries with Restricted Press
A Digital Nomad's Guide to Following Local News
How the Same Story Looks Different in Different Countries
