The journalist, radio and television announcer, María Teresa Campos has died at the age of 82 at the Jiménez Díaz Foundation in Madrid. What was the ‘queen of the mornings’ She has been accompanied at all times by her two daughters, Terelu Campos and Carmen Borrego, also on television, by her family and her closest friends.

This Saturday, September 2, María Teresa Campos entered this Madrid center, due to a “respiratory insufficiency“, being his prognosis” reserved and very serious.very serious” since “his health had worsened.” Finally, he has passed away surrounded by all his: family (on Sunday afternoon, relatives and friends from Malaga, where the presenter was from, moved to Madrid), friends and colleagues who did not want to leave her alone in her last moments.

Because Maria Teresa Campos or ‘The Fields’ As everyone calls her and knows her, she has been a benchmark in the world of the media: first on radio and later on television. In addition, at a time when it was more than difficult for a woman to be or become a national reference at an informative level. But she came. She landed in Madrid, after consecrating herself in radio in Malaga, with 40 years to occupy, nothing more and nothing less than a managerial position: news director of Radiocadena Española (RCE)a radio channel integrated into RTVE.

And so, over the years, she came to be crowned with the official title of ‘queen of the mornings’, almost promoting her own genre. That of that “container” of information and entertainment, in which everything could fit. Because, and that was another of her many virtues, sometimes unfairly criticized, no information resisted her, and that is not easy at all: politics, economy, culture, society, heart and even reality shows.

One of the most influential journalists of her time, awarded with countless prizes. Among them, the Waves Award, which he raised twice (in 1980 and in 2002); Gold Microphone (2003) Gold Medal of Andalusia (2002); Clara Campoamor Award 2007; Iris A Lifetime Award 2012; Gold Medal for Merit at Work 2017 and Adoptive Daughter of the Province of Malaga 2017.

But the important thing is that he never (or rarely, at least) resisted and resented the affection of the publicespecially of many (and many) women who made ‘la Campos’ part and refuge of their mornings, making them, surely, much more bearable.

In recent years, when health was beginning to fail him, ‘la Campos’ wanted to continue working and present a television program again, because as she said (and in the way that only she knew): “‘What am I doing in my house!'”. Her last great program was ‘Qué tiempo tan feliz’, broadcast for seven years on Telecinco and ended in 2017, which she also combined with various participations in other programs on the network. But her face was not only associated with that house, but also and above all with RTVE, where she began and established herself on television, and also in this house, at Atresmedia, in antenna 3, with his morning program ‘Every day’. Also with another program called ‘Lo que interesa’. In the video that illustrates this news we can see some of his best moments on Antena3.

genius and figure o figure and genius to the end. Until the body endured, until the mind said enough. ‘La Campos’ withdrew -forced- from the screen shortly before turning 80. Just a few years later, she died in Madrid surrounded by many colleagues who not only loved her but, above all, admired her. Because for many of them, she was not only another companion but also a reference in the world of radio and television.

From Malaga to Madrid and from a Hermida girl to a morning queen

Born Maria Teresa Campos in Tetouan -in the Spanish Protectorate of Morocco- in 1941, but when he was only one year old he moved with his family to Malaga. It was there that he was raised, started and grew in this profession that he would love until the end of his days. The study Philosophy and Letters at the University of Malaga (at that time there was no journalism) and a short time later he began working on different radio programs in the capital of Malaga.

On Radio Juventud de Málaga (one of his most mythical programs was Mujeres 72 where he would talk about feminism, thus being one of the first programs to raise its voice in favor of women’s equality), in Cope and finally in RNE. At that time, María Teresa was known as “Mary Tere”, with “y”. Also, and at that time, in 1977, just after the dictatorship had almost ended, she briefly flirted with politics, appearing for number 3 of the Spanish Social Reform party to fight for women’s problems.

In 1980, she was appointed Director of News for Andalusia of RCE and from there, a year later, she would make the leap to Madrid as Director of News for Radiocadena Española (RCE). This change in her life comes hand in hand with her, as she herself has recounted on many occasions, from the divorce and after the death of her ex-husband and father of her daughters (Terelu and Carmen), the also journalist José María Borrego.

Back in Madrid, and on RTVE, María Teresa Campos, 40 years old and with two teenage daughters, continues to bet on the radio as well (she was on Ser, Cope and Onda Cero) which she combined with the inclusion of small collaborations in the small screen, for later and by the hand of the great jesus hermida getting fully involved in television, being one of the most popular faces in his mythical program In the morning, also on RTVE, thus going down in history -also- as one of the ‘Hermida girls’.

Later, and by itself she would become ‘the queen of mornings’ on the public channel with the programs ‘This is her house’​ and above all, ‘Life moves on’. Then the private channels would come, first Telecinco with its mythical program and group of ‘Día a día’ and later on Antena3, also in the mornings, with the program Every day and what interests. Also on Antena 3, he would present a nice tribute to the singer (and personal friend) Rocio Juradowho died on June 1, 2006. And later, she would return to Telecinco again, until she retired -without her wanting to-.

“Do you think that saying what you think has a price?” Terelu asked him on the Every Day program. “Saying what one seems to have to say at the right time is one of the great luxuries of life,” answered María Teresa Campos, who also said, and that was also one of her great mottos-that television is there to “make people happy”. Today she is one of the greats of information and entertainment that she combined and loved both as only she could do. As only ‘la Campos’ could do.