Major outrage with TV3 for not covering the Paüls fire: 'Shame'

Catalonia's public television has once again hit rock bottom. TV3 has ignored the serious fire that since yesterday at noon has burned 5,683 acres (2,300 hectares) in Paüls, in Baix Ebre (Tarragona). Social media have been filled with messages of outrage over the degradation of Catalan public media.

The neglect of the news services is such that Catalans have had to follow the minute-by-minute updates on Gerard Romero's Twitch channel. Catalans are tired of paying a fortune for a television channel that focuses on ideology and covers irrelevant news. They have made this known through social media.

Messages of outrage against TV3

"Confined and without any public media reporting on how the situation is evolving," Júlia complained from the Ebro lands. She also lamented that when something happens in Valencia or anywhere else in the world, they rush to cover it.

"Three towns about to burn, people without information, and you're making reports about PSOE. You deserve the worst, you're scum," another outraged viewer points out.

"How sad TV3's coverage of the Paüls fire is," Jordi laments. "The fire has already crossed the Ebro and they're broadcasting with outdated information."

Poor and late: outdated information

When TV3 realized what was happening, they tried to react, but it was already too late and it was even worse. Viewers have accused Catalan public television of broadcasting information from two hours earlier, pretending it was live.

"What kind of Govern do we have, public television says nothing about the serious fire in Paüls. News from Russia, United States, shame and no live news," a Catalan woman complains. "It's shameful what TV3 is doing with the Paüls fire," Ruth exclaimed.

Marina criticizes that "our Ebro lands are burning but TV3 probably doesn't even know yet." Many criticisms are directed at the centralism of Catalan public television, which only pays attention to what happens in Barcelona and neglects the rest of the territory. "Where are you," Laia asks, "we're experiencing a catastrophe and we only find out through videos circulating on social media."

Criticism also directed at Govern

Criticism has also appeared on social media against Govern and its representatives. People lament that Interior Minister Núria Parlon doesn't even know how to pronounce the names of the affected towns. She said Paulls instead of "Paüls," and "El Far de Carles" instead of "Alafara de Carles," as noted on X.

After the budget increase in 2023, TV3 costs 44 euros for each Catalan, double, for example, what TVE costs. Despite how expensive it is, the channel has been experiencing a decline in quality and an ideological drift unworthy of public media for some time now.

Incidents like this also show the growing disaffection of Catalans toward a television channel that was always a reference in Catalonia.