IB3 workers accuse management of altering information about the Trenc human chain

PalmThe IB3 works committee has issued a statement on social media denouncing that "the text provided by the team that covered the human chain in La Ràpita against the unprotected Trenc was directly modified by the News Directorate". In the post published on Instagram, they regret and harshly criticize that it is "a very serious attack on the professionalism of the workers".

Specifically, they assure that in the definitive text, retouched by the directors, the fact that the mayor of Campos, Francisca Porquer (PP), tried to boycott the protest was "minimized". They add, moreover, that the rest of the media did echo Porquer's attitude and that the piece carried out by the IB3 journalist also included it, but that the direction eliminated it.

On the other hand, they also report that on the digital channels of public television, only the news of the graffiti on the beach was broadcast, exactly the same information that the mayoress of Campos gave on her Instagram profile with a critical message against the protesters and the demonstration. A surprising fact about this, however, is that the IB3 journalist who covered the event interviewed a resident in Colonia de Sant Jordi who assured her that the graffiti had not been done that day. "I can't tell you exactly when they were done, but they weren't done today or yesterday, they've been there for quite a few days," the interviewee assured in a piece that was never published either.

In the social media post, they also send a message to the citizens and audience of the public television of the Balearic Islands, where they assure that they regret the treatment that IB3 gave to the multitudinous demonstration.

However, they emphasize that with the statement they want to publicly denounce that "we have not been allowed to offer rigorous news about the events that occurred" and they demand that IB3 "let the professionals of the public television of the Balearic Islands do their work" in order to "convey the information faithfully".

"Deep concern"

For its part, the Union of Journalists of the Balearic Islands (SPIB) has expressed deep concern over the complaints of IB3 workers regarding the news coverage of the mobilization in defense of the Trenc Natural Park. According to their explanation, it is not the first time that, under the current management of IB3, alleged interferences in the handling of certain matters of public interest have been reported. "The repetition of these episodes generates serious concern and calls into question the professional independence that should preside over a public media outlet," they comment.

In view of this situation, the SPIB demands that those responsible for these practices assume the consequences and calls on the management of IB3 to guarantee, once and for all, the full autonomy of news service professionals and respect for strictly journalistic criteria. "The credibility of IB3 and the right of citizens to receive truthful, plural, and independent information cannot continue to be compromised," they have remarked.