He continues to wake up at three in the morning “with his head full of questions,” as was the case in the days of radio, and he is still a hostage of habits that have made him, for decades on end, inhaling early morning scents in search of something. A history capable of launching a look back at the days when the work of “feeling and thinking” was completed.

Just over three months after leaving TSF, 70-year-old Fernando Alves has collected in another book 50 records of his famous “Signals” section.

At the presentation, which took place on Thursday late afternoon, at the Viscondes de Balsimão Palace, in Porto, in front of dozens of friends and former colleagues, but also listeners, he left words of encouragement for his former comrades. “I can no longer agree with the lack of cleanliness,” he explained, referring to the changes that occurred during that period in the shareholder group that owned the radio and the “Jornal de Notícias”, among other titles such as “Diário de Notícias”. And sports “the game”.

In a speech in defense of journalism, he noted that the growing shortage of resources and the deterioration of “memories in newsrooms” make the role of journalists more urgent. In contrast to the overwhelming character of the commentators, “the shoals are always the same in their rules.”

He emphasized that recent unpleasant events were not enough to put pressure on the “lucky ones” who say he had the chance to “play with fire,” always driven by the “temptation of the abyss.”

The secret of influencing so many listeners with his personal and untransferable record was nothing unusual. “Get a good start and finish. The rest will come,” he stressed, convinced that “there are many Fernandos Alves out there. Just look for them.”