Barcelona journalist Enric Sopena has died at the age of 79 in Madrid, according to the digital newspaper ‘Elplural.com‘, of which He was a founder. This media outlet dedicates an article entitled “Farewell Enric Sopena, teacher and friend” to the figure of the communicator and reviews his professional career in a text in which he highlights his “Commitment to denouncing injusticesthe fight for equality and the defense of democratic values.”
Born in Barcelona on November 19, 1945, he graduated in Journalism from the Institute of the University of Navarra and then graduated from the Autonomous University of Bellaterra (Barcelona). After completing an internship at ‘Radio Barcelona’ (SER), in In 1967 he joined the newspaper ‘La Vanguardia’where he remained until 1974. He then worked at ‘Radio Barcelona’ and was a correspondent in Barcelona for the newspaper ‘Madrid’, ‘Informaciones de Madrid’ and ‘Diario 16’.
In 1974, he was appointed section head of ‘Barcelona Diary’, a position he held until 1976. On that latter date, he was appointed editor of that medium, which he left in 1979 due to disagreements with the editorial line that the newspaper had adopted, and invoked the conscience clause.
After working as director and announcer of the program ‘La nuit’ (The night) on ‘Radio España’, in February 1983 he joined the leadership of ‘Televisión Española en Cataluña’, where he remained until 1985, when the then general director of ‘RTVE’, José María Calviño, appointed him. Director of News Services at ‘TVE’.
During his tenure, he was directly responsible for the issuance of a report on the political past of the then president of the Popular Coalition, Manuel Fraga. This program caused a real political stormwith the intervention of the President of the Government himself, Felipe González, who rejected the use of the past as a weapon.
Dismissed from his post by the director General Pilar Miró returned in March 1987 as a delegate in Madrid for the new ‘Diari de Barcelona’, now defined as a “progressive newspaper in Catalan”. In 1988, he took over the management of this newspaper, which he directed for just over a year.
In February 1989, the General Manager of RTVELuis Solana appointed him director of ‘Radio Nacional de España’ (RNE). During his tenure, he was accused of carrying out reprisals against professionals who were critical of this medium. Just one year after his arrival in the post, he was confirmed as head of ‘RNE’ by the new general director of the Entity, Jordi García Candau. He was in charge of undertaking the commercialization of RNE-3 and RNE-5.
On October 31, 1990, Enric Sopena was replaced as director of ‘RNE’ by Fernando G. Delgado, and on November 7 he took office as Territorial delegate of ‘TVE’ in CataloniaDuring this period, he actively participated in the development of the information system for the 1992 Olympic Games. He was also one of the executive directors for the sole broadcast of the event in Catalan on ‘Canal Olimpic’, the result of an agreement between RTVE and the regional radio and television channel.
Behind the arrival of the PP to the Government, he resigned from his post, In December 1996 he was appointed general manager of ‘COM-Radio de Barcelona’, where he remained for four years until resigning. Since then, he has been a political analyst for various programmes on Telecinco, the now defunct CNN+, RNE and TVE, as well as a columnist for the written press.
In 2005, he was appointed Director of the digital newspaper ‘Elplural’where he remained until 2017, becoming a shareholder. Author of numerous articles, he also wrote the political essay ‘Rajoy’s Spain’.
Journalist Committed to freedom of expressionIn 1971, he was arrested for invoking professional secrecy when questioned about a press conference held by the clandestine Assembly of Catalonia. He also belonged to the driving force behind the Democratic Group of Journalists, chaired the Barcelona Press Association and was vice-president of the FAPE. In 1997, he promoted and chaired the Josep Maria Lladó Group of Progressive Journalists and is a representative of the College of Journalists of Catalonia. Sopena was married to the journalist Margarita Sáenz Díez Trías.
Sánchez, on Sopena: “He was a brave and committed journalist”
The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchezhas reacted to the death of the journalist on the social network X, where he has highlighted that Sopena “was a brave journalist and a committed man“He leaves us after having sown his friendship in all those who loved him. A very big hug to Margarita, her family, colleagues and friends,” said the leader of the Executive.
Source: Lasexta
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