13 Latinx Broadcast Journalists Who Inspire Us
Seeing ourselves represented on television is of the utmost importance
Photo: Instagram/iliacalderon
Seeing ourselves represented on television is of the utmost importance. It makes us seen, allows us to be part of the conversation, and gives us more equal playing ground. This is especially important when it comes to the news.
News is important for the whole community at large, so shouldn’t it include as many different representatives as possible? After all, fair representation leads to fair, objective coverage. Latinxs in the news means we have someone dedicated to including our people. The following 13 broadcast journalists have been our face on television, a source of pride and inspiration, and suppliers of information.wp_*posts
Ilia Calderon
Ilia Calderon made history when she became the first Afro-Latina to anchor a major news desk in the U.S. The Colombian journalist replaced Maria Elena Salinas on Noticiero Univision, and has won an Emmy for her work.
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Jose Diaz-Balart
Cuban-American journalist Jose Diaz-Balart is giving us the news–in two languages. He is an anchor on both Noticiero Telemundo and NBC Nightly News.
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Lori Montenegro
Afro-Cubana Lori Montenegro reports on White House and other political news, directly from Washington D.C, for Telemundo, where she is a national correspondent. Montenegro has been with Telemundo since 2006, and also collaborates with MSNBC on topics important to the Latinx community.
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Maria Elena Salinas
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Chicana Maria Elena Salinas holds the title of longest running female network anchor in the country, having had a career with Univision that lasted 36 years. Some of the awards she has received include a 5 Emmys, another Emmy for Lifetime Achievement, a Peabody Award, and a Golden Mike Broadcast Legend Award from the Radio and Television News Association of Southern California.
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Cristina Saralegui
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Chances are, you grew up watching the talk show El Show de Cristina on TV. The Cubana really was the Latina Oprah, interviewing the top stars for 21 years. Before that, she was an editor-jn-chief of Cosmopolitan en Español; after the show, Saralegui published her magazine Cristina: La Revista.
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Kristina Guerrero
E! News shares the latest on celebrity pop culture. Kristina Guerrero was the show’s first Latina host; today the Chicana is hosting lifestyle television program The List.
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Teresa Rodriguez
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Teresa Rodriguez is anchor of the news show Aqui y Ahora, which she co-hosts with Maria Elena Salinas. The author of the book The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border, has won 13 Emmys for her journalistic work.
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Soledad O’Brien
Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien is a representative for those of us who come from various cultures–the journalist is Afro-Cuban, Irish, and Scottish. She has anchored/been a correspondent on CNN, Al Jazeera America, MSNBC, HBO, and TechTV, and hosted a documentary entitled Latino in America (with corresponding book!)
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Jorge Ramos
Time magazine put journalist Jorge Ramos on one of the covers of its 2015 “100 most influential people in the world” issue. The Mexican-American, who has stood up to Trump in press conferences, demanding the truth, has co-anchored Noticiero Univison since 1987. In addition to hosting other shows, and winning several awards, including eight Emmys, Ramos has authored 13 books.
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Maria Hinojosa
You may recognize Maria Hinojosa’s voice on her NPR show Latino USA (and also now In the Thick), but the Mexican journalist has also worked on numerous TV news shows. These include Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, La Plaza: Conversaciones con Maria Hinojosa, America by The Numbers with Maria Hinojosa: Clarkston Georgia, NOW on PBS, and Visiones.
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Natalie Morales
Natalie Morales-Rhodes is a familiar face on television. The Brazilian and Puerto Rican journalist has worked on several shows, including The Today Show, NBC Nightly News, Dateline NBC, Access Hollywood, and Access Hollywood Live.
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Elizabeth Vargas
The daughter of an Irish-American mother and a Puerto Rican father, journalist Elizabeth Vargas is a representative of Latinxs, on shows including 20/20, Good Morning America, NBC News, World News Tonight, and A&E Investigates. She is credited as the first Latina to “permanently anchor a major newscast.”
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Michelle Caruso-Cabrera
News reporter Michelle Caruso-Cabrera is Cuban and Italian. She has covered business topics for the shows Power Lunch and Worldwide Exchange, and served as Chief International Correspondent for CNBC.
