When a conflict breaks out somewhere in the world, Céline Galipeau, chief antenna of the Newscast of Radio-Canada, always raises his hand to go to the scene. When Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February, her bosses told her that she would be more useful in Montreal.
Posted at 7:06 p.m.
“But after a few weeks, a new opportunity presented itself,” she told me. I was then told that I could leave. Jean-François Lépine liked to repeat that it felt good to smell the dust. Me, I need to feel things. It is rather the emotion that I will look for. »
The one who covered the conflicts in Iraq, Kosovo, Chechnya and Afghanistan presented a series of reports for two weeks from meetings that had a profound effect on her.
“Maybe because I’m an introvert, the field experience helps me understand things better. It’s a professional distortion. I tend to think that good coverage of events is done on location. »
Céline Galipeau is absolutely right. These experiences permeate their witnesses who, on their return, write or report things with necessarily a nourished and sharp look.
With us, at The Press, my colleagues Isabelle Hachey and Martin Tremblay covered for several days the horror that this country has been experiencing for more than 80 days now. They went there in March when the landmarks were not easy to find. I devoured their reports.
The day Martin posted on Facebook a photo of Isabelle and him in a train car where we saw them both riveted to their computer, preparing their equipment, I admit that I had chills. We do not suspect the courage that it requires and the dose of adrenaline that results when covering such an event.
For a very long time, it was the reporters who were delegated to cover conflicts and disasters. But the trend that puts news anchors at the heart of major events has grown significantly.
When I started as a newscaster, I asked to do some field work, because I felt I had zero credibility. It is important that we do this. Last Sunday night I was watching live reports from Buffalo and all the newscasters were there.
Celine Galipeau
Sending a reporter abroad is one thing, but sending a news anchor is another. The logistics are different. His absence behind the desk causes a nice headache. “Honestly, it did me good to go out, says Céline Galipeau. Management was generous in letting me do this. »
On May 9, they presented a special edition of the Newscast live from Ukraine. The facilities were rudimentary. Instead of the reassuring teleprompter, the host-journalist had to rely on a tablet placed in front of her on which the texts were scrolled manually.
Around Céline Galipeau, there was a cameraman, a director, a local fixer (someone who serves as a guide, interpreter and decoder) and a security consultant from a British firm. “The insurance company imposed this on us,” she says. It was completely new for me. This person checks all paths, attacks that take place the day before, etc. In Ukraine, we bomb everywhere and all the time. »
Things went pretty well overall for Céline Galipeau and her team. But they still experienced something difficult with the 21-year-old fixer who accompanied them.
“We were in Zaporijjia and we had been waiting for survivors from Mariupol for two days. The United Nations had set up roadblocks. When they finally arrived, the 200 journalists present rushed at them. Our fixer was both moved and outraged. He yelled at us. We tend to forget that we work with people who are going through a shock. They’re not just performers. They also convey suffering. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Céline Galipeau, journalist and host of the Newscast from Radio Canada
Céline Galipeau was touched by the great beauty of this country. But especially to see this beauty ravaged by the Russians. “We may look at images, but when we arrive in a city that has been bombed, we understand the great brutality of this war. »
She was also overthrown by the enormous courage of the Ukrainians. “When driving on the main roads, each entrance leading to a small village is fortified. I wondered how they did that. They explained to me that it was the people of the villages who erected this. That determination is what sticks in my mind. »
Céline Galipeau has heard a lot from the mouths of Ukrainians that they are going to win this war. “There is no doubt in their minds. They cannot conceive that they are going to capitulate. At first, we all believed that this conflict would end in a few days. And that’s not what’s happening. »
I asked the one who has been a journalist for almost 40 years to tell me how this confit is different from the others she has covered. “It’s the speed at which information travels. We tend to move faster because we suddenly realize that something is happening in an area. »
In fact, we realize it by watching or reading the reports, this war brings together two eras. “It’s a war of 2022, says Céline Galipeau. But the Russians are waging a war of 1940. They send troops and tanks. They even make trenches. The Ukrainians have missile launchers and drones. They have gone elsewhere. This should allow them to gain the upper hand. »
The great determination of the Ukrainians leads Céline Galipeau to believe that this people could win this war. “The Russians seem to be wondering what they are doing there. They fight, they have wounded, they bring them back. They take breaks between noon and 1 p.m. and stop bombing. This is where the Ukrainians come out and attack. The Russians have huge losses. »
The fear of Ukrainians is that the media will stop talking about this war. Because for them, it is essential that the planet knows what is happening. “It’s important to continue to cover this war, even if it’s tiring,” says Céline Galipeau. The Ukrainians are fighting for themselves, but also for us. They tell us, by the way. If they do not succeed in stopping the Russians, the latter risk advancing elsewhere. We can clearly see what is happening in Moldova, Sweden and Finland. People are scared. Ukrainians never imagined that Russia would do this to them. And yet…”