'À Punt' is in the eye of a political storm over the release of a Cecopi video.

Valencian television station À Punt is in the eye of the political storm for its videos recorded during the DANA protests. After the station's news services were awarded last spring by the University of Valencia for "information coverage and public service" during the tragedy, the network's role has been questioned by victims and criticized by unions over a video from Cecopi.

The controversy erupted following the publication of footage from the Cecopi newscast, recorded by a team from À Punt but not broadcast. It was a silent video—a space in which media outlets are permitted to record with the understanding that the audio will not be broadcast—that RTVE published as a news story, believing it to be relevant for informational purposes. In the audio recordings, the accused former minister can be heard discussing the content of the ES-Alert. The video was allegedly leaked from À Punt to RTVE , sparking a bitter ethical debate between the two television networks.

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In this scenario, yesterday the judge investigating the dana case, Nuria Ruiz Tobarra, agreed to request from Televisión Española the information piece broadcast on the Cecopi audios and asked the management of À Punt if they still maintain "the offer to provide recordings, (audio or image, or both), of the coverage of the dana, and specifically, of the Cecopi meeting that took place on October 29, 2024."

The judge was clear in her writing: "The relevance of said recording in the present case must be considered, given that, precisely, the moment in which the ES ALERT was sent is under investigation, its content, the decision-making process and the possible participation in said process of other people who do not have the status of investigated, also based on the seriousness of the events that are the subject of this investigation: the loss of 229 human lives (one of them dependent) and the injured." She added, "said recording contradicts statements made in court and the circumstances in which it was obtained; journalists were present and were able to hear what was finally recorded," referring to Pradas' appearance, which placed the issuance of the alert in a technical context.

'À Punt' says it will provide all the material but wants to wait to see what exactly the judge asks of it.

A request from the judge that the management of À Punt wants to have an official response before responding. Sources at the network explain that when the court's letter arrives, the legal services will be contacted and a formal response will be issued. Yesterday's news informed viewers that "the Audiovisual Corporation of the Valencian Community, as it has done so far, will comply with all the requests made by the judge and will provide all the audiovisual material requested."

The debate over the withholding and publication of the images has generated tension both on and off television. The victims, who yesterday welcomed the judge's request to reclaim the audio recordings from Cecopi, did not hesitate to criticize À Punt for not publishing them for 10 months: "Hiding evidence or not actively contributing to clarifying the facts does not protect anyone's privacy; rather, it fosters opacity, fuels mistrust, and perpetuates the pain of those of us still waiting for answers." "From our associations—the two most representative and mobilized of the victims of the Dana (the Association of Mortal Victims of the Dana 29-0 and the Association of Victims of the Dana 29 d'Octubre de 2024)—we hope that Valencian television will remember and handle information related to the Dana with absolute rigor, the rigor it lacked in the metro accident."

Read also Victims of the incident accuse 'À Punt' and Vilaplana of covering up information. Hèctor Sanjuán, Neus Navarro

The two organizations were not pleased at all with the regional television station's reference at the beginning of the September 10 news report "to the dissemination of these reports for partisan purposes." They also disliked the statement read by the presenter to the company's main unions, which made public on social media that what was expressed in the news reports "does not represent the voice of the staff or the editorial staff because it was not drafted by any committee elected by the staff (Intersindical)" or "it is the voice of the company. It is the company that unilaterally drafted the statement" (CGT).

All of this comes amid escalating tensions within the television network after the station's management opened an investigation to clarify the "theft" of the images broadcast by RTVE and stated that it reserves the right to take any legal action it deems appropriate. This situation has generated discontent among part of the staff and prompted the Union of Journalists—the union's majority association—to intervene to show its support for the newsroom staff after they reported to the union "internal pressure, intimidation, and coercion following the leak of the Cecopi video on October 29 during the Dana."