josé-maría

José-María defies common stereotypes. Although he was born in Almería, in the heart of Andalusia, those who know him are quick to point out that his excessive perfectionism in work seems «more Swiss than Spanish». Some would argue that José-María’s «Teutonic» work ethic has something to do with the fact that he has not only married a German, but has also spent long periods of time in that country as a foreign correspondent for the Spanish National Television (TVE). He not only covered the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but became Bureau Chief in Berlin towards the end of the 1990s, covering the ups and downs of the reunification. However, the fact that José-María has spent most of his life darting across the globe as a journalist for TVE suggests that being a workaholic may be innate. Spending time as a foreign correspondent in Rabat, Sarajevo (during the siege), Madrid, Port-Au-Prince, Kinshasa, New York, Washington and finally Brussels, José María may have had to acclimatize to local cultures. But that has never meant adapting to local working hours, much to the annoyance of his family and friends.

una reflexión (con vídeo) sobre el futuro de los corresponsales

De todo el mundo nos han empezado a surgir corresponsales que, como tú o como Magín Revillo en Washington, quieren subirse a la plataforma abierta de [a] news. Pero antes de decirte sí o no, tienes que saber dónde estamos y hacia dónde vamos.

sálvese quien pueda, corresponsal

Debo ser franco contigo, corresponsal: Hay tres palabras claves para entender hacia dónde vamos, corresponsal: sharing, networking, internet. Pero no tenemos ningún agobio, por el momento, en desarrollar el ‘network’ dando entrada a profesionales con ganas y futuro, como tú; porque la crisis hace que las empresas periodísticas sean muy conservadoras en el gasto y esperan salvarse (craso error) echando gente a la gente en vez de invertir e innovar.  No obstante, viene bien visualizarse en esta nueva ‘revolución industrial’ que vamos a sufrir los periodistas porque el futuro está en servicios como el nuestro de la agencia de corresponsales. Dicho lo cual, no es el momento de hablar de cuánto vamos a ganar sino de intentar prepararnos para que no nos manden dentro de cuatro días a barrer el desierto. Tener en Nairobi un corresponsal, mola; pero eso no significa que sea una prioridad: si a ti te interesa estar en la plataforma de corresponsales, podemos estudiar que estés; pero no te lo plantees hoy por hoy como un business… porque te puedes llevar un chasco. La posible colaboración tendría que empezar por entender dónde estamos, quienes somos y a donde vamos, tú y nosotros: sumar, en suma (sic). La revolución industrial del siglo XXI ha comenzado… y no vale  agarrarse al mástil, porque entonces te hundes con el barco. Creo, de verdad, que los corresponsales somos una especie en vías de extinción: si lo vemos así, con humildad, a lo mejor todavía podemos encontrar un salvavidas para no acabar como el titanic. [josé-maría siles]

somos corresponsales

we are correspondents, somos corresponsales

Never heard about us? Don’t worry. We are the new kids on the blog. My name is José-María Siles: Spanish, journalist, foreign correspondent… I’m the director of [a] news, the correspondent agency. I have spent more than 20 years working for the National TV of Spain. TVE is now the past: thanks a lot, Torrespaña for all that you gave us… Being a TVE correspondent all over the world I had the best way of communicating. All my knowledge and my know-how is going to be essential for our challenges. I left TVE and I am back on the track, in Brussels: reborn, full of energy, working together with a new generation of journalists.

paul: two decades chasing the news

From the launch of the euro, to the eating habits of Icelanders; from the thoughts of a Nobel winning novelist to the impressions of an Afghan school girl enjoyingher first day in class, Paul Ames has spend two decades chasing the news. He has reported from Kigali , Kabul and Kinshasa, but the focus has always been Europe. Paul is used to firing questions to leaders at EU summits, talking strategy with NATO generals or working the Brussels diplomatic circuit to dig for scoops. Looking beyond Brussels , he’s sought to show how ordinary and extraordinary Europeans are affected by changes sweeping the continent, Scottish trawlermen struggling with shrinking cod quotas, Latvian soldiers switching from Warsaw Pact to Atlantic Alliance, unemployed steel workers facing life on the dole. An Englishman who has spent his working life on mainland Europe, mostly working for America ’s Associated Press, Paul has an international outlook and remains committed to the universal values of a journalism that is quick and compelling, factual and fair.

marcel and the journalism virus

Marcel Pieper seems to incorporate all ingredients a journalist needs: Curiosity, an open mind, mobility, willingness to constantly learn news things. He got infected with the ‘journalism’ virus at the age of 16 during a two-week internship at a regional newspaper in his hometown Moers, 30 minutes East of the Dutch border and 45 minutes North of Cologne, the centre of German happiness. Marcel kept working for this paper as a free-lancer, until he moved to Muenster to study international politics and the antipode to what the people between Düsseldorf and Cologne call ‘Rheinischer Frohsinn”. It soon became clear that neither the beauty of the city nor his friends could stop him from moving on. In August 2001, Marcel went abroad to study US politics and the American way of life in Richmond, Virginia, 1 ½ hour drive from Washington, D.C. Three weeks later terrorists steered airplanes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center (WTC). Ironically, he saw the pictures of the second plane hitting the WTC towers while entering the room for his TV journalism course. The way how the attacks shaped not only campus life, but the country as a whole became the theme of his final project. Back from the US, Marcel moved to Berlin to finish his studies and try his fortune in TV reporting, first at ZDF, Second German TV, then at ARD, first German channel. He watched closely the power shift from the ‘Basta’-chancellor Gerhard Schröder to Angela Merkel, the first female leader, hoping that he could learn from both approaches for his future career. Since 2007, he is back to writing stories, this time for the online portal on EU enlargement or Sarkozy’s mission to rescue Europe. His new home is Brussels but it is unlikely that this is meant to be the final destination.

[a] news the correspondent agency

nuestro vídeo, versión 1.

somos corresponsales

we are correspondents
siamo correspondenti
wir sind korrespondenten
nós somos correspondentes
نحن مراسلون
nous sommes des correspondants              
мы корреспонденты
wij zijn correspondenten
мы корреспонденты
我们是新闻记者
somos corresponsales

paul: two decades chasing the news

From the launch of the euro, to the eating habits of Icelanders; from the thoughts of a Nobel winning novelist to the impressions of an Afghan school girl enjoyingher first day in class, Paul Ames has spend two decades chasing the news. He has reported from Kigali , Kabul and Kinshasa, but the focus has always been Europe. Paul is used to firing questions to leaders at EU summits, talking strategy with NATO generals or working the Brussels diplomatic circuit to dig for scoops. Looking beyond Brussels , he’s sought to show how ordinary and extraordinary Europeans are affected by changes sweeping the continent, Scottish trawlermen struggling with shrinking cod quotas, Latvian soldiers switching from Warsaw Pact to Atlantic Alliance, unemployed steel workers facing life on the dole. An Englishman who has spent his working life on mainland Europe, mostly working for America ’s Associated Press, Paul has an international outlook and remains committed to the universal values of a journalism that is quick and compelling, factual and fair.