María Carcaboso is fourth year Journalism student in the UIC Barcelona Faculty of Communication Sciences. She is combining her last year with the grant from the Agencia EFE news agency company and “la Caixa” Foundation, as a Society editor. What she likes the most is travelling and getting to know realities different from her own. She believes that now she is really becoming a journalist because she is rapidly learning the trade. Thanks to the grant, her dreams will come true when next year, she will work as a correspondent at one of the EFE offices.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am Maria Carcaboso Abrié. I am 21 years old and I am in my fourth year of Journalism at UIC Barcelona. Right now, I am an editor in the Society section of the Agencia EFE branch in Catalonia, thanks to a grant from the Agency and Foundation “la Caixa” with which I started in November. I lived in Poznan (Poland) last year for six months with an Erasmus grant. I returned just three days before the war between Russia and Ukraine started. Travelling and getting to know realities different from my own is what I like the most, and I am fortunate to work in something that allows me both to live it and tell it.
Do you have any work experiences before the grant from the Agencia EFE/“laCaixa” Foundation?
All my work experiences have been through internship contracts. During the summer of 2021, when I had finished my second year, I worked in Lavinia as editor of Informativos TeleCinco [TeleCinco News]. I was unable to fully enjoy the experience because I was working telematically due to Covid, but it was my first contact with the profession and I was very excited. Later, in March 2022, I joined the Globe Comunicación agency and was there until the end of June. When I began studying, I didn’t consider working in this branch of communication, but the truth is that it suited me and I liked it, although the internship was also done telematically. Working from home is comfortable sometimes, but I was starting to find it a little frustrating not being able to walk into a newsroom or an office in either of my two internship experiences.
What did you do then?
The summer of 2022 arrived and I was able to do my practices in the communication agency with others in the Grupo Godo. I worked in Branded Content, in other words, I produced branded content that was published on the Grupo platform. Specifically, I worked on branded content for La Vanguardia newspaper, La Vanguardia Magazine and RAC1 radio network. I began this internship with high hopes. I suppose that was because I was joining a large group; but I realised that it wasn’t what I really wanted. I finished my internship at Grupo Godo in early August, took a few weeks of vacation and on 1 September, the call opened for Agencia EFE and “laCaixa” Foundation grant applications.
How did you feel when you found out you had been selected?
Before I found out, I remember everyone telling me that it would be ok if I wasn’t selected, that having reached the final phase was an achievement in itself, but nothing calmed me; I wanted the grant. I began to read the official list of grant recipients and the seconds that passed until I saw my name, which were probably three, seemed an eternity to me. When I saw my name, I was relieved. This relief only lasted a few hours, because then, I began to worry if I would measure up. I wanted, and I want to do well. It took me a few days to internalise that the time had come to begin the stage that I had been aiming at since before I even began studying Journalism. But it was harder for me to believe that all the nerves and stress I had experienced during the tests were behind me.
What’s it like to be an EFE/la Caixa intern?
At first, I was a bit overwhelmed by the situation because I felt it was a huge responsibility. In fact, I still feel that way, but I recognise that I have learned to channel the pressure I put on myself. They have given me a huge opportunity that I appreciate very much, and I am very, extremely grateful. As I said, I am in the Society section, which has writers specialised in more specific areas, education, health, feminism, as part of the same section. I work on a bit of everything.
What is your most valuable learning experience to date?
At a professional level, it is evident that in a news agency like EFE, you learn a lot from everything that its journalists know, because they are exceptional professionals who help you grow. But I would emphasise that I have been lucky to work in a section where both the editors and the chief have been willing to help me from the very beginning, so that my work, like theirs, can also shine. I would even dare to say that right now is when I am really becoming a journalist because I’m am rapidly learning the trade.
Besides professionally, what has this meant for you personally?
From the time I decided to apply for this grant until I received it, I have seen generosity, kindness, altruism in the people around me. Grant recipients from previous years who also worked at EFE a long time ago were able to help other students achieve what they themselves had achieved when they were students. My classmates were the first to be congratulate me when I would tell them that, step by step, I was passing to the next phase. When my self-confidence was down, friends reminded me of the importance of small achievements. And my family lived it as intensely as I did, the nerves and the joys.
Why did you decide to study Journalism?
The reason for my decision is far from why I am studying Journalism. I began because I wanted to work in TV news, to work in the sports section, but, from a 17-year-old to 21-year old, I had a lot of time for my ideas to mature… I am always curious to know, and I love being up to date on everything. And, Journalism allows you to try and do many things, things that are different from each other. The María who entered UIC Barcelona wanting to broadcast sports news is not at odds with the María who has worked in the agency world or with the María, who maybe in a few years, will end up in corporate communication.
What do you think are the current challenges facing journalism?
I think misinformation is the biggest challenge right now. Checking sources and verifying information has always been crucial, but even more so now in the age of immediacy. Fortunately, very interesting verification projects are being promoted that fight against fake news and that are doing a wonderful job: Maldita, EFEverifica, IVERES, VerificaRTVE, Newtral or Verificat.
How did they prepare you in Journalism at UIC Barcelona?
From the moment we begin university, we are able to use digital media like DoubleCheck and television cameras; we can go to the television studio and the radio studio, which makes all the difference. Without a doubt, it is a great opportunity, but I also have to admit that you have to know how to take full advantage of it. And beyond the subjects, I would point out the number of University teachers who are working professionally and who are willing to advise and help you, and who for me, have been wonderful guides. I would also point out that UIC Barcelona allows to do internships almost from the very beginning. This is something that helps in learning about the profession at more practical levels, and it also helps us find out where we fit in and what we are good at, as well as allows us to forge relationships with colleagues that can be very useful.
What would you like to do in the future?
In the near future, work abroad. And I am fortunate because that is already a reality thanks to the grant at EFE, which lasts 18 months: the first nine months are done in a national office, while the last nine months are in an international office. I don’t know where I will end up because we still don’t know the countries in which places will be offered. But I would not miss being a correspondent for anything in the world. In the distant future, I’m not ruling out any options, because I like a lot of different branches within Communications, something that I consider to be quite fortunate.