My challenge as a communicator is impartiality



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Alejandra Oraa
Photo courtesy of CNN

Alejandra Oraa would never have imagined that the 2020 Emmy Awards would be at home: from there presented the first Spanish edition of the awards major players in the television industry. Nor did I expect to win two statuettes of CNN Café Y Destinations, programs he directed, broadcast by CNN in Spanish.

2020 was marked by covid-19 and, for Alejandra Oraa, this year does not cease to amaze her. The 32-year-old Venezuelan, born in the state of Vargas, I was hoping to get the Emmy as the best morning show in Spanish for CNN Café. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy: in 2016 he had a hard time getting the statuette.

Alejandra Oraa
Photos from the 2016 Emmy Awards Gala | Photo courtesy of CNN

Oraa is aware that she has stiff competition in the Emmy run. Every year, CNN en Español clashes with Hispanic networks in the United States, such as Telemundo and Univisión, which stand out for their experience and resources. “The two channels also have huge budgets for their morning shows New day Y Wake up America”, Says the reporter, who never took victory for granted.

Their big goal was to achieve it this year, so they focused their efforts on doing exceptional work that could be recognized. They did it: CNN Café pink like Best morning show in Spanish and, in addition, the statuette was brought to Best entertainment program of Destinations.

Alejandra Oraa
Alejandra Oraa in Destinations | Photo courtesy of CNN

Also ambassador to the United Nations, who in 2011 became the youngest screen journalist of CNN en Español, he already has six Emmys under his belt. The first was won in 2016 and repeated in 2017 and 2018 by Destinations. And in 2019 he received the statuette for the best presenter.

This year add two more to the rewards list In the midst of the global crisis of covid-19, challenges, changes and a contingency that have shown him the more human side of journalism.

The set at home

Great work sets are in the past. The crisis has caused drastic changes and Oraa has accepted the challenge of transmission CNN Café to 40 million spectators in Latin America from home.

“2020 has demonstrated the importance of simplicity. The luxuries, the lights, the great things are not what makes a show great. What are its people, its content and social service ”, he reflects.

It’s hard work to produce a home show, something you never thought you’d do. “We use the resources of ordinary technology. We live as communicators what professionals in every part of the world are experiencing ”, he stresses. And he adds: “Never in my life have I thought for months I would have worked from my living room. But 2020 has come to surprise me ”.

Alejandra Oraa
ALa journalist at one of the latest Emmy Awards gala | Photo courtesy of CNN

The priority is to maintain quality and protect yourself from the virus. “In the United States, the figures are worrying. The idea is that we can be independent enough to stay healthy, “he says.

Like everything this year, it was not easy to achieve it. The CNN team held meetings to specify which “studio” to use at home.

“They have provided us with the necessary tools. The most important thing is that in 2020 the journalists who work at CNN let’s find out what we are made of. We have to work from essence and conscience at home. You have to trust the person’s reasoning and maturity to carry out a good program without much support, ”he says.

The first few months were the most stressful for Oraa, but now she sees it as an enriching experience. “We realized it as a team we can trust every person and we can present an international program from our home, ”he says.

Speaking of the recent elections in the United States, in which Joe Biden beat Donald Trump, the CNN reporter assures that they were pretty special elections in terms of coverage, in the midst of the pandemic and in times of much fanaticism.

“As a journalist I understand the need to inform with facts. They were sometimes criticized when what Trump said about the fraud was reported. At CNN we are committed to demonstrating with facts why some opinions are or are not true, ”he explains.

The coronavirus crisis has also affected this process and media coverage in the United States. “We are in a complex and critical moment due to the pandemic, therefore fanaticism was on the surface among the followers, “he explains.

However, it remains firm and strong showing in favor of freedom of expression. “I am against attacks on the media for doing their job. I am also opposed to attacks on a specific person for carrying out the task of informing, “he stresses.

And he reiterates: “Opinions do not change facts, but facts can change the opinions of a person with reason”.

The pandemic, Oraa also continues it has led the media to adapt to new ways of reporting. “We are moving a lot towards social media platforms and communication independence,” he says.

“We are in an interesting time. We have seen how big companies, the ones that founded journalism in the United States, have had to adapt to modern platforms. I’m sure it won’t be strange to see a newscast on TikTok in the future. We will always be the pioneers of journalism in other parts of the world. So I look forward to this change, “he says.

Report in times of crisis

No one was prepared for a global crisis like the coronavirus. For the first time, says Alejandra Oraa, the protagonists of the news are also the journalists.

“It’s very difficult to keep the feeling aside. This year we have dropped the word “fairness”. We need to talk about our feelings effectively and hopefully because they see us as an example“Says Oraa.

2020 was difficult for her. “What happens affects me as a human being. I think at some point we are all short of guarapo, as they say in Venezuela. It is not easy to maintain mental stability, not to break down“, He says.

Staying impartial is the major challenge you face as a journalist in a year when covid-19 caused death 1,425,217 people, according to Worldometer.

“If I see what is happening in Venezuela it breaks my heart because my relatives are there. It is difficult to remain impartial. For me it is a challenge as a communicator“, he reveals.

These times of crisis have also brought about the capacity for resilience. “It is very complex to know how to react from one day to the next and, above all, how to manage it as journalists. I think the media were up to the task, ”he points out.

Alejandra Oraa believes that the media, more than ever, has become stronger. “The value of the media has been strengthened in a year when we have to be hyper-connected and we need all the information ”, he reiterates.

Although she doesn’t believe the term “new normal”, she is sure that television and the press will continue to be present for the public. Consider that too journalistic work will be valued more when the pandemic ends.

“More emphasis will be placed on the need to report effectively, without partisanship. Above all, the proximity of a journalist will be valued. We realized that we are human and that we also need the feeling part of the news, because we couldn’t do without it, ”he explains.

And he concludes: “The pandemic has made journalism more human”.

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