The Lanzarote journalist Roberto Arrocha has become a finalist in the XIII La Buena Prensa Awards. An exceptional level contest to which any text in Spanish published in paper or digital format can be submitted. A contest open to media from all over the world and consisting of eight categories, plus two special awards: Best report, Best interview, Best photograph, Best chronicle, Best coverage of a planned event, Best coverage of an unforeseen event, Best series and Best supplement.
A jury decides the winning journalist or media outlet of the contest, for which in each category there is a winner and some finalists. In the edition held this 2024, the Lanzarote native Arrocha has presented a report on the Polígono Sur neighborhood in Seville, entitled 'X-ray of the poorest neighborhood in Spain'. An extensive report published in the ABC media outlet of the Andalusian city.
A report that mixes images of the daily life of the neighborhood's residents, a map of its extension and mainly tells the way in which they have to "survive" in the neighborhood. Poverty, dilapidated buildings, testimonies of young people who live in the neighborhood and the help that comes from various groups that try to get it out of the crisis in which it has sunk, without reaching an apparent solution. These are some of the issues and many more that the report includes, which can be read in full in the awards link.
Roberto Arrocha as a journalist
Roberto Arrocha, born in 1975 in Arrecife de Lanzarote, is a Doctor in Communication from the University of Seville, has a degree in Journalism and a diploma from the Teacher Training School from the University of La Laguna, Tenerife. He works as a journalist at the ABC newspaper in Seville, is a professor at the Loyola Andalucía University, currently specializing in Oral and Written Communication Skills, and has presented and directed the program “A Balón Parado” on Sevilla FC TV since 2011. Since October 2023, he is responsible for the EL CUBO space of Sevilla FC in the club's media.
As a professional, his extensive and recognized career cannot be understood without his way of conceiving journalism. Roberto always delves into the human side, a circumstance that has earned him several awards for his solidarity. Among some of the awards he has received are the "Exemplary Journalist" award, awarded by the José Ramón Cisneros Palacios Association; the "Plaza de España" award, granted by the Seville City Council for the integration work carried out in the A Balón Parado program; the award for "teaching work" at the Loyola University, the result of his great work leading the Communication students; the "Solidarity Journalist" award, awarded by the Andalusian Association of Liver Transplant Patients (AATT) for his dissemination in organ donation; the runner-up prize of the Luis Portero Journalism Award for the Promotion of Organ and Tissue Donation in Andalusia for the report 'Life and sport as a gift'. He was also nominated for the Educa Abanca Awards (Best Teacher in Spain). Some of the books he has written are 'Sevilla FC King of Europe 2006-2023', 'A Balón Pasado', 'Hoy sí me puedo levantar', and 'Piensa luego Crea'.
