The RTVE Board Meets Today to Decide if Cascajosa Continues as Head of the Entity

The RTVE Board of Directors meets this Tuesday in an extraordinary session to discuss the continuity of Concepción Cascajosa as President, as her six-month term, for which she was elected last March, is about to expire.

Sources from the corporation and the board told Europa Press that the meeting will be held from 11:15 AM on Tuesday at Prado del Rey (Madrid), with "a single agenda item", the dismissal or renewal of Cascajosa's mandate, which ends on Friday, September 27.

Concepción Cascajosa was elected interim president of RTVE on March 27 after the dismissal of the previous holder of that position, board member Elena Sánchez. Sánchez was appointed to that role in September 2022, replacing José Manuel Pérez Tornero, who announced his resignation because he believed there were no conditions for governance nor circumstances to make his project viable.

"The situation is the same as six months ago," sources consulted by Europa Press indicate. At this moment, they add, Cascajosa would need five votes in favor to continue as interim President. However, she only has the support of socialist board member Ramón Colom, Podemos' Roberto Lakidain, and PNV's Juan José Baños, in addition to her own vote. Opposing them are the board members proposed by the PP (Jenaro Castro, Carmen Sastre, and Consuelo Aparicio), former RTVE president Elena Sánchez, and independent board member José Manuel Martín Médem.

Another alternative would be a rotating presidency where board members designate the oldest member to replace Cascajosa for another six months. In this case, Ramón Colom would be chosen, followed by José Manuel Martín Médem. In this scenario, board sources point out that Cascajosa has spent "the entire weekend" trying to convince Elena Sánchez to support her continuity, but Sánchez remains "firm" in voting for the current leader's dismissal. A former president's abstention would not be sufficient since it would add to the votes against renewing the president.

Sumar expects Concepción Cascajosa to be dismissed this week as interim president of RTVE and that her position rotates among other board members while pending renewal of the Board of Directors is carried out. This was conveyed to Europa Press by Francisco Sierra, Sumar's spokesperson in the Joint Committee (Congress-Senate) for Parliamentary Control of RTVE and its Societies, where Concepción Cascajosa will appear on Monday to answer questions posed by deputies and senators.

Sumar's spokesperson believes that if PSOE's negotiations with PP have not resulted in a renewal proposal, it is likely that the current interim president will seek "Moncloa's endorsement" to continue leading the Corporation. This situation seems to him "a severe de facto blockage due to bipartisan inaction, which appears unconcerned with independent governance of RTVE." Sumar "is not in favor" of Cascajosa's continuity because "she has failed all commitments made in her first session" when she appeared before the aforementioned Joint Committee for parliamentary control of the General Courts, according to Francisco Sierra.

Cascajosa is a member of RTVE's Board of Directors, elected by Parliament in March 2021. Since July of that year, she has also been president of RTVE's Equality Observatory, a body composed of representatives from workers, management, and social organizations working towards gender equality within the Corporation and promoting public broadcasting obligations regarding equality.

Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) in 1979, Concepción Cascajosa holds a PhD in Audiovisual Communication from the University of Seville with an Extraordinary Award. She is an Associate Professor of Audiovisual Communication in the Department of Communication at Carlos III University of Madrid, where she is also director. She has two recognized research periods and has received an Excellence Award from the Social Council.

Additionally, she has been director of the Master's program in Film and TV Scriptwriting; vice-dean of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication Studies; author or editor of nine books and a hundred academic publications; and contributor to media outlets such as El País, Fotogramas, and Serielizados.