María Antonieta Collins of Noticias Univisión: Our anchors and reporters are nothing without the extraordinary guidance of the control room

María Antonieta Collins, journalist, presenter, and writer of Mexican origin, covering the Vatican for Noticias Univisión, will celebrate 50 years of career in 2024, and admits that her greatest challenge “is to continue learning, to be aware that what you know is not the most important, but what you need to learn. This is an exercise of humility”.

As a journalist she believes that the invention of the century is the time code of the cameras. “I am an old-fashioned reporter. Everyone that works with me knows that I don’t make a story for the daily note or a special feature without making a log. Without it you have no control over what has been said or what you are going to say. So for me, the greatest thing we have and that has been perfected is the time code on the cameras”.

For Collins, the schemes in news production are over. “Before, everything needed a camera. Now it’s all opportunity. I just did a story on the Pope’s trip to Canada, and 50% of that tour was covered using a phone. The better phone you have, the better access you have.”

She assured that anchors and reporters in the field “are nothing without the extraordinary guidance of the control room that uses all available resources. The new generations must learn from us to never say no and to be ready, to continue listening, learning, and paying attention as if we were a small business”.

She is most passionate about covering human stories and the Vatican. She is not too keen on politics or finances.

Another great lesson that she has learned and practiced throughout her career is to be very prepared. “I don’t go to any coverage if I don’t have at least 75 cue cards and that is the key to the success of my coverage. Always be one step ahead” she said.

One of the coverages she is really proud of is her interview with Pope Francis last July 11. “It allowed my network, Univisión, to be the first in the US to have a Pope speaking in Spanish. This is beyond anything a reporter like me, who has covered the Vatican for 30 years, ever dreamed about”.

Another piece of news that shocked her was the capture of Chapo Guzmán, and the fact that she had to go into the tunnels he used twice. “It is very difficult to talk about one in particular. There are many throughout a 48-year career, but without a doubt, the Pope’s interview touches deep my heart in the 30 years that I covered the Vatican and also the two conclaves that I had witnessed as a journalist” she emphasized.

To conclude, she highlighted the impact that streaming has had on the news. As an example, she mentioned two specials that they did on Holy Week in Seville for ViX 24/7 News. “We reached an audience that we did not imagine was within reach of a phone, it was a pleasure to find them, get to know them, making them available all this with the same quality that we give them on television”.