Channel 4 has decided to end the program “Santo y Seña”, which was presented by Ignacio Álvarez for thirteen years. This decision marks the closing of a stage in television and was recently announced by El Observador. The program concluded its last season last Sunday, thus closing a cycle that began in April 2012.
The program team was made up of Patricia Martín, Pablo Fernández, Leonardo Pereyra, Alejandro Amaral and Bernardo Wolloch, along with the singer Carolina Delsur. Over the years, “Santo y Seña” had the participation of renowned personalities such as Patricia Madrid, César Bianchi and Claudio Romanoff, who contributed to its dynamics and popularity.
A program with controversy at its core
During 2024, “Santo y Seña” was involved in several controversies that captured the public’s attention. In July, they managed to conduct an interview with drug trafficker Sebastián Marset. Later, they issued a report about an alleged attack by a sex worker towards Yamandú Orsi; However, this accusation was denied by the complainant, revealing that it was a setup by the nationalist militant Romina Celeste Papasso.
In November, the channel included a clarifying message during an editorial by Álvarez about Orsi’s refusal to be interviewed, stressing that the opinions expressed in the program were the responsibility of its presenter. This context generated even more debate around the program and its journalistic approach.
Prior to the elections, Yamandú Orsi had rejected several interview requests from Álvarez, who had previously directed a series of insults at him. In response to this situation, Orsi published a video on his social networks reminding Álvarez of the verbal attacks he had received.
After an incident in November, where Álvarez tried to interrupt a press conference to obtain an interview, Orsi expressed on social media his commitment to respect for the media, but also established limits on democratic coexistence. In his message, he highlighted that accusations such as “garca”, “dishonest” and “dog face” were not part of responsible journalism.
On the other hand, Ignacio Álvarez revealed that Channel 4 had asked him not to broadcast recordings of his exchanges with Orsi and showed a video recorded allegedly without the candidate’s consent, where they talked in a private environment.
