Onda Cero reshuffles lineup, Alsina and Latorre affected; La Brújula left in limbo

Onda Cero reshuffles its mornings and La Brújula is left in limbo

The redesign of Onda Cero's programming schedule has ignited complaints from several forum listeners, who view it as an internal succession rather than a ratings operation. According to these comments, Carlos Alsina is stepping down from the morning drive time, while Rafa Latorre moves up from La Brújula to take the morning slot. In his place, Marta García Aller is now hosting the station's nighttime program. She has been on air for two days.
Several of her regular listeners have already decided they will not give her the leeway she claims to deserve.

Who's Who in Onda Cero's New Setup

The maneuver rests on three names. Alsina, who headed the prime-time slot, is stepping away from the morning drive. Latorre, who had built La Brújula as a night program focused on irony and criticism of the Government, is moving to the morning. Marta García Aller inherits the night slot, a space where the station's political conversation is brewed.

The launch of the new program has had highly commented segments. In one of the first broadcasts, García Aller interviewed an Afghan woman who could not bring her children to Spain. Olga Viza later intervened to reflect on parenthood. The format, according to listeners, has changed the tone of La Brújula more than its name suggested.

The Most Criticized Move: Latorre to the Morning Slot

The move that has caused the most pain among trinc of the program is not the nighttime shift, but the morning one. Those who defended Latorre in La Brújula maintain that his irony and jabs at the Government worked better during nighttime hours, with less commercial noise and more room for analysis. In the morning, they say, he appears 'softer, less intense.'

Not everyone agrees on the diagnosis regarding Alsina. Some consider him the best radio journalist of recent decades, whose neutrality allowed him to challenge politicians regardless of their affiliation. Others, however, reproach him for having vetoed parties with parliamentary representation.

Antenicide as an Old Ghost of PRISA

Amid the discussion, a historical detail resurfaces—a pattern that repeats whenever a station changes ownership, according to one forum user. In the summer of 1992, PRISA entered Antena 3 Radio and two years later absorbed it. The administrative piece that sustained the operation was the Council of Ministers meeting on May 20, 1994, which authorized the concentration of both stations into Unión Radio, co-owned by PRISA and the Godó group. Without that authorization, the operation wouldn't have held up. The term 'antenicide' was born then and remains.

While this is not an exact parallel to Onda Cero, the shadow of antenicide looms every time a station changes hands and reorganizes its structure.

Why is part of the audience drifting away from generalist radio?

The discontent is not limited to Onda Cero. There is a broader trend suggesting that some have stopped listening to generalist radio due to loss of interest: the argument is that major chains have turned analysis into trench warfare, and listeners can detect bias immediately.
Alternatives like listening to historical programs via podcast, niche digital radios, or music stations have emerged as refuges during the morning commute.

In this context, Onda Cero's struggle is not just about programming. Those who are leaving aren't just quitting a program; they are abandoning the radio they used to listen to.

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If the standard is audience reception, García Aller has room to grow: some are asking for time and refuse to judge her after only two broadcasts. If the standard is the historical fidelity of La Brújula, however, the clock is already running. Some have even set a date for their departure: January.