Marc Marginedas: "David Beriain shook to its foundations the instructions of international journalism in Spain".

"David was, is and will be. He was, because thanks to his overflowing talent and charisma, he shook the foundations of international journalism in Spain to their foundations instructions , taking it out of a relative stagnation and, I would say, even provincialism". This was stated by correspondent Marc Marginedas during the submission of the award Luka Brajnovic of the University of Navarra at degree scroll posthumously to journalist David Beriain, in a ceremony in which Rosaura Romero, David's wife and audiovisual producer, and Charo Sádaba, dean of the School of speech also took part.

"It is precisely because we are gathered here today to remember him and examine his work," continued Marc Marginedas, a friend staff of David's and award Luja Brajnovic in 2019. "And I have no doubt that it will be, because in the future his name will reverberate with the greats of this field of the profession," he assured.

Marc Marginedas spoke of the leitmotiv of his degree program, which would end up marking his entire career as a journalist. "I wanted to access 'the others', those that the media speech do not talk about and leave aside, whether they are armed militias that are enemies of our governments and armed forces, insurgents described as murderers, hired assassins or even armed groups responsible for kidnappings," he said. 

He also stressed that David worked to inform, to transmit data and to empower readers to make their own decisions. "He did not belong to any political party, cause or ideology, nor was he in the service of any state, not even our own. It was journalism in its purest form, with no other commitment than to the truth and freedom of expression. 

Rosaura Romero, David's wife and 93-metre audiovisual producer, recalled the journalist's bequest , "who not only lives on among his friends and family, but also in the heart of the School". "He understood that good journalism depended on effort and dedication; but beyond his quality as a businessman or journalist, there was his human quality," she explained. "David treated everyone equally and made an effort to put himself in the other person's shoes, always trying to stay in the background," the producer added. 

"David should be remembered as a good person who practised journalism with humility, honesty and dignity, knowing that the most important thing is respect for others," Rosaura concluded. 

Marc Marginedas and Charo Sádaba, together with Rosaura Romero and other members of David Beriain's family PHOTO: Manuel Castells

An example for young people who want to practice journalism freely and responsibly.

The award Brajnovic recognises communicators who have stood out for a professional career marked by the defence of freedom, human values and human dignity. The award bears the name of Luka Brajnovic (Kotor, 1919 - Pamplona, 2001), professor of Deontology for more than thirty graduating classes of journalists at the University of Navarra. Since 1997, some twenty individuals and organisations have been honoured with the award.

 "The award we present today is at the same time very fair and very unfair," said the dean of the School at speech, Charo Sádaba. "It is unfair that David's life, young, vibrant, with an enormous potential to stir consciences, has been suddenly interrupted by criminal interests. But at the same time it is an extraordinarily just and well-deserved award ," she said. With this award, he added, "David joins a saga of giants who spur us on and drive us to set ambitious goals. They push us to ensure that in our formative task many courageous young people emerge who want to exercise their work with freedom and responsibility, with a joyful, very human, but also very deep commitment". 

The submission of the award was surrounded by other events in which friends and colleagues of the journalist from Navarre took part. Among them, the screening of the documentaries Percebeiros, La vida en llamas and Palomares, commented by the producers Leire Ariz and Marías Recarte, and by the cameraman Sergio Caro, with whom David Beriain worked on these and other productions.The programme also includes a video conference; or a roundtable with Rafael Cores, colleague and friend of degree program; Paco Sánchez, who was his teacher and with whom he later worked at La Voz de Galicia; Natalia Junquera, friend and journalist at El País; Adriano Morán, with whom he founded 93 metres; and Fernando Jerez, David Beriain's producer on many of his works.

David Beriáin Amatriain was born in 1977 in Artajona and graduated from the University of Navarra in 1999. He was married to the Venezuelan producer Rosaura Romero. Throughout his journalistic career, degree program , he specialised in covering armed conflicts. He was in Afghanistan, where he interviewed the Taliban, and covered conflicts in Sudan, Congo and Libya. He also worked on the ground with the FARC and drug cartels. He was one of the founders of the audiovisual production company '93 metres', specialising in documentaries. He died in 2021 in Burkina Faso. At the time of his murder, David Beriáin was working with Roberto Fraile on a documentary about the fight against poaching.