Giving Europe ‘a voice’: Television news network Euronews turns 30

Creating a European identity is not just a matter of treaties, currencies and borders, it’s also about people knowing and understanding each other.

Euronews journalists had this in mind when the channel was launched 30 years ago today. It was launched in five languages but with one, common goal: to give Europe a voice in an increasingly connected world.

“At the time international news was completely monopolised by the US, with CNN,” Spanish Euronews journalist Beatriz Beiras.

“Eurovision launched an initiative aimed at creating a European channel, with two goals. First, breaking that monopoly, Second, helping European people get to know each other better.”

Today Euronews reaches tens of millions of people across 160 countries. But getting the station up and running was not smooth sailing.

“They told us ‘you’ve got two months to set up a tv station’,” Euronews chef de chaîne Isabelle Martin remembered.

“There were still cables and holes on the ground until the very last moment. Nothing was ready. The technicians were all young.

“We were not sleeping, we were working twelve consecutive hours a day. It was us who put everything in place. No one told us anything.”

But far from breaking the spirit of Euronews’ first journalists, the initial challenges they faced brought them closer together.

“We were proud because we felt that we were building something,” Euronews journalist Aurora Velez said.

“A new media in Europe. It was very nice to go into the newsroom and hear people talking in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German.”

“It was the living proof of different nations building Europe, and that was something very important for me,” Euronews journalist Christian Boudarel added.

With around 400 journalists from more than 30 different countries, Euronews remains the eyes and ears of Europe.

Watch Euronews’ report in the video above.