TV director grilled over appearance fees

MARIA Umbert, the director general of the Balearic radio and television station IB3, had to answer questions about the fees received by personalities to appear on programmes. She was answering questions put by the parliamentary control committee.
Socialist Deputy Antoni Diéguez calimed that former soccer player Miquel Angel Nadal received “a rumoured 4'000 euros a week or possibly 6'000 euros a month.” Umbert refused to discuss figures, although she said Nadal received much less than the figures quoted. She justified her posture alleging that contracts had confidentiality clauses. She said that IB3 paid “according to a scale in the public interest” but Dieguez called her arguments “partial.” Umbert went on to deny that Spanish personalities Pocholo and Kiko Matamoros had been paid astronomical sums to appear in a chat show, adding that “according to her information” they had only received expenses. She also rejected accusations that IB3 went in for “preventive censureship” in interviews. claiming that whatever the person interviewed wanted to stress appeared. The only control exercised is regarding the quality of the programmes.
Umbert was replying to accusations by Socialist Deputy Pilar Costa, who queried the “journalistic liberty” of IB3.
Costa claimed that several of the station's employees had complained repeatedly about “action to control the news”, saying that the station wanted to make as few live interviews as possible with people who “could be embarrassing.” Umbert challenged her to present proof.