Writing about catenaries is not easy. Doing it in a way that readers do not get lost is even less so. And earning the respect of engineers is almost an impossible mission. Journalist Óscar Muñoz achieved all this through rigor, honesty, and commitment, the same he demonstrated in his early days when he wrote about social and neighborhood movements.
That is why the Col·legi d’Enginyers de Camins, Canals i Ports has had the gesture of stopping to look only at themselves and highlighting the role of communication at the Cerdà awards gala. They did so by launching, together with La Vanguardia, the Óscar Muñoz award for communication in infrastructure and mobility, thus creating a bridge between both worlds, a tribute to Muñoz’s personal and professional style. In fact, his way of doing things set a precedent, and in the Living section at La Vanguardia’s newsroom, the recurring question is: “And how would Óscar explain this?”.
Journalist Mònica Peinado receives the first communication award in infrastructure
A possible answer is provided by the winner of the first Óscar Muñoz award for communication in infrastructure and mobility, Mònica Peinado: “Stopping to think when everything accelerates, with reflective, committed, and rigorous journalism, hitting the streets and talking to all parties.” Peinado was a journalist at Cadena Ser for 25 years, shared many stories with Óscar, and now leads institutional communication at Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB). Yesterday she received the award from Óscar’s daughters, Irene and Clara, and from the director of this newspaper, Jordi Juan, who recalled the figure of the journalist who passed away last April and asserted that “explaining the works well is as important as doing them well.”
In addition to the Óscar Muñoz award, the Cerdà medals were also presented, recognizing outstanding careers in the field of engineering. They were received by Joan Franco, founder of Paymacotas and BAC Engineering, and Jordi Julià, current general director of Infraestructures de Catalunya (Ifercat) with a long career in infrastructure planning, especially in the railway sector. One of them, which Óscar wrote about extensively, is the orbital railway line, which is now back in the spotlight, just like the debate about what to do with the Maresme line, a matter for which Professor Agustín Sánchez-Arcilla was awarded and on which Óscar could spend hours debating and weighing all its pros and cons.
