Teletrece, also known as T13 or Tele 13, is the flagship daily evening television news programme of the Chilean television channel Canal 13. It is presented by journalists Ramón Ulloa and Mónica Pérez. First aired on 1 March 1970, it is currently the longest-running television programme and the second most watched national newscast in Chile.
It is broadcast Monday to Sunday at 9:00pm in continental territory and 7:00pm in Easter Island. It features ninety minutes of national, international and sports news, followed by a national weather forecast with Carolina Infante. The 9pm primetime edition is broadcast primarily live from the Channel 13 Television Centre in Providencia, Santiago Metropolitan Region to viewers all over Chile.
History
Teletrece was launched on 1 March 1970, replacing the former newscast El repórter Esso (1964-1968) and Martini al instante (1968-1970). It is the current flagship programme from the news division of the network, which started in 1963. Pepe Abad, Pepe Guixé and Freddy Hube were the program's first newsreaders. Since its initial duration of 30 minutes each night, Teletrece began extending in 1973, with its broadcast hour now being an hour and a half, with three daily editions of 30 minutes, because more information was being broadcast. These editions would form the basis of the Teletrece brand of newscasts, in addition to 5-minute news updates during the day and the Sunday afternoon newscast Perfil Noticioso de la Semana, presented by Javier Miranda. By 1971, its initial anti-Salvador Allende stance, a point of criticism in its early days, dissipated.
After the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende, Teletrece had a fundamental role in broadcasting the coup, becoming then the second newscast to be broadcast nationwide, as TVN was then shut down. In 1974, Abad was replaced as principal presenter by Guillermo Parada, who stayed on for only a year.
In 1975, César Antonio Santis arrived to a relaunched Nuevo Teletrece as the new presenter on his return to Canal 13. In 1977, the newscast adopted chroma key for its production.
On 1 January 1978, Teletrece made the first national colour news broadcast, after the Pinochet government decree removed color television from being a prohibited good, a status it had since January 1972 under a strengthening of protectionist policies during the period 1970 to 1973. In 1977, Javier Miranda joined Teletrece as an alternate presenter for weekends. The newscast became the nation's most watched. In 1983, Santis ended the May 14 newscast with a tribute to the Lira Street news studios of Channel 13, then located in the downtown Santiago campus of the Catholic University which it shared for many years, as the editions to be aired from the following day onwards would be produced and aired live from the brand new news studios at the Channel 13 Television Centre. In 1985, it was the first newscast reporting on the consequences of 1985 earthquake on the south coasts of Valparaíso Region.
In 1988, Santis left to join the TVN news department, leaving Miranda as the presenter for weekdays. Augusto Gatica assumed the presenter role for weekends until 1990 when he was replaced by Jorge Díaz. Miranda was the presenter of the Tuesday night variety programme Martes 13 until he left the series following the 1992 season, and Gatica became relief presenter for the Tuesday edition until 1989 when Diaz took over. In 1990, Teletrece became a single-presenter program, which moved to the Channel 13 Press Center studios. In 1998, the morning edition was launched, which in 1999 restarted broadcasts under the brand Teletrece AM.
On 26 September 1999, Rodrigo Jordan, Canal 13 director-in-chief, relaunched the telecast with new presenters Jorge Diaz and Carolina Jimenez for weekdays, and weekends by Silvia Carrasco and Rodolfo Paredes. Regular members of the panel included Ramon Ulloa, Antonio Quinteros and Matilde Burgos. All Teletrece editions, studios and graphics were refreshed to be more cohesive with the new branding. When Diaz left the program in 2002, Jimenez was the first woman solo presenter for the newscast.