Hispanic journalist Salinas reflects on Cronkite Award

Two of the most iconic Spanish-language journalists, Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas, recently accepted the 42nd Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism. Ramos and Salinas co-anchored Noticiero Univision, Univision’s Spanish-language newscast, for roughly three decades.

The Cronkite Award, which was named for the late CBS News anchor, honors notable journalists and media executives, highlighting their accomplishments and leadership.

After leaving the network, Jorge Ramos and María Elena Salinas now work as independent journalists. Ramos hosts a daily digital news series, “Así veo las cosas,” featuring interviews and discussions on issues affecting the Latino community. Ramos and his daughter, Paola Ramos, a host at MSNBC, also share a podcast, “The Moment,” focusing on multigenerational topics from a Latino perspective.

Salinas has her own podcast, “Cinco Preguntas,” as she explores relevant and relatable topics in the Latino community.

María Elena Salinas, recipient of the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss more about the award.

“…especially realizing that we’re the first Latinos to receive this award, and that is a huge honor,” Salinas said, “I think it’s also a recognition not only of us, and our job, but of the importance of the Latino community in this country.”

Salinas discussed how important it was for there to be a voice for the Latino community, emphasizing how crucial credibility and trust are.

“We both had a commitment to the Latino community…everyone who worked in Spanish language media,” Salinas explained, “…we did it together.”

When Salinas started in the industry, there were roughly 14 million Latinos in the U.S., and now there are around 68 million Latinos. Salinas is the daughter of immigrant parents and was raised primarily in Los Angeles.

“I was a witness to how the Latino community was contributing to this country,” Salinas said, “…how hard they were working, the effort they were making to assimilate…those are stories that I needed to tell.”