Sad day for journalism in Euskadi. As reported by her own channel, the director of Tele7 and Radio7, Yolanda Alicia González, died this past Monday due to a sudden infection, believed to be caused by a tick. In this way, in the most unexpected way possible, one of the most important voices in the media in the province of Vizcaya, one that began its journey almost four decades ago, is extinguished.
Yolanda Alicia was, together with her husband Javier Pikaza, one of the seven promoters of Radio7, a station with a young soul that reported information and events in the areas of Margin Izquierda and Zona Minera, framed in the Greater Bilbao area. The project paid off, and over the years the station would also become a television channel for all the people of these territories.
Director of programming and news for the channel, Yolanda Alicia was the main person in charge of the interviews and debates of the candidates who were running for mayor in the municipal elections on May 28. This was her last major assignment before her death, which has left a considerable void in local journalism in the Bilbao area. With practically no time to react, Tele7 published a statement regretting the loss of her.
“Yoli, working side by side with you all these years has been a true honor. You have been one of us, working like the most to achieve a youth project; an illusion that you carried out together with six friends, today it is a reference means of communication on the Left Bank. Your sudden and premature death has left us with an immense void”, expressed the workers of the chain.
One of the figures that has most lamented his loss has been Koro Mendieta, from the ‘Protagonistas’ program. The journalist has had difficulties expressing herself in the face of what happened. “More than a boss, she was a partner. She has taught us all without intending to, in a world so aesthetic, she was ethical, it didn’t take a scandal for people to watch Tele7. She was a currela. She was not a head of office, she edited and was writing with us, ”he commented to the newspaper El Correo.
Figures from the entire Bilbao area and Vizcaya in general have expressed their sorrow at the departure of Yolanda Alicia. From colleagues from other media to the mayoress of Barakaldo, Amaia del Campo. “Dear Yolanda, we are going to miss you very much. It’s always hard to say goodbye to a friend. A big hug to the entire Tele7 family ”, she stated on her Twitter account. Her farewell ceremony will take place this Wednesday, at the Bizkaia Mortuary in Retuerto, Barakaldo.
