Rosa María Calaf receives Spain's National Television Award for pioneering legacy
The veteran RTVE correspondent is recognised for breaking barriers in journalism and reporting from the world's major political centres.
A pioneering figure in Spanish television
The Ministry of Culture awarded the Premio Nacional de Televisión 2026 to Rosa María Calaf Solé on 1 July. The prize, endowed with 30,000 euros, recognises "the legacy of a pioneering figure in television reporting," the jury stated. Calaf, the most veteran correspondent of RTVE, entered news services at a time when women had only anecdotal representation in journalism.
As the most veteran correspondent of RTVE, she was part of the news services at a time when women had anecdotal representation in journalism.
Reporting from the world's power centres
Her career took her to New York, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Rome, Vienna, Hong Kong and Beijing. The jury praised her rigour as a correspondent in these major political centres, calling her an indispensable reference for the profession. She combined interviews with world leaders and street-level reporting, always seeking to explain complexity with clarity.
Her rigour as a correspondent in the main political centres of the world makes her an indispensable reference for the profession.
Innovating the television narrative
Calaf understood the power of the image to enrich journalistic storytelling and pushed new forms of television chronicle. She addressed topics then considered taboo, such as homosexuality, with a forward-looking perspective. In 1983, she was part of the founding team of Catalan public broadcaster TV3 and assumed its programming direction.
She understood the enormous power of the image as a tool to enrich the journalistic narrative and promoted new forms of television chronicle, with a vision ahead of her time, addressing topics then considered taboo, such as homosexuality.
A lasting commitment to journalism
After retiring, Calaf remains active in training new generations of media professionals through numerous outreach activities on television and journalism. The jury highlighted her feminist and diverse perspective, capable of anticipating themes and styles that are fully current today. The award, granted by the Ministry of Culture under Ernest Urtasun, can recognise either a work broadcast in 2025 or, as in this case, a complete professional career.
