Pilar Requena is a Spanish investigative journalist, author and academic with nearly four decades of experience in international reporting and documentary journalism. Since joining RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster and a member of the European Broadcasting Union, in 1987, she has become one of the most respected figures in European investigative journalism.
Requena has held several key positions at RTVE over the course of her career. She began as a reporter in the international affairs section of Telediario, RTVE's main television news programme, before serving as the broadcaster's correspondent in Berlin from 1999 to 2004, covering Germany and Central and Eastern Europe during a period of profound geopolitical change. From 2004 to 2020, she reported for En Portada, one of RTVE's flagship foreign affairs programmes, producing dozens of reports and documentaries on conflicts, wars and international affairs across the globe. She currently serves as editor of Documentos TV, RTVE's prestigious long-form documentary strand.
Beyond her work at RTVE, Requena plays a leading role in shaping investigative journalism across Europe. Since 2021, she has chaired the Steering Committee of the EBU Investigative Journalism Network (the governance body of the investigative consortium bringing together reporters from public service media organisations across the continent) a position to which she was re-elected in October 2025.
She is also a prolific author on geopolitical affairs. Her books include Afganistán, a study of the country's decades-long conflicts; La potencia reticente: La nueva Alemania vista de cerca, an analysis of Germany's role in Europe; and Populismo Pardo, an examination of the rise of the far right. A sought-after speaker, she has lectured in International Relations at several universities and teaches Public Diplomacy as a guest lecturer at IE University in Madrid.
Her journalism has been recognised with numerous awards, including the King of Spain International Journalism Prize, the European CIVIS Media Prize, the Salvador de Madariaga Prize, and the Premio Ones for career achievement.
Image © RTVE
