Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Tuesday 5 december 2017
U.S. anchor leaves long Univision

post, seeks new audience

By GISELA SALOMON promotes the rights of immi- she plans to pursue some
Associated Press grant families. independent documen-
MIAMI (AP) — Spanish-lan- “It’s refreshing and inspiring tary projects after taking
guage broadcasting in the to have someone like her a break to recover from a
U.S. is losing one of its most who can sway public opin- busy news schedule and
prominent figures as Maria ion, raise her voice and spend more time with her
Elena Salinas retires from represent the community.” two adult daughters.
Univision News after more From the anchor desk at She will start in January by
than three decades of Univision, Salinas and Ra- working on the second sea-
blending the role of anchor mos have a big audience son of her English-language

In this Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2017 photo, Univision news anchor and advocate. that makes them among series, “The Real Story with
Maria Elena Salinas sits for an interview in Doral, Fla. Salinas, who hosts the main the most-watched televi- Maria Elena Salinas,” on
Associated Press news broadcast on Univi- sion journalists in the U.S. in the Investigation Discovery
sion with co-anchor Jorge any language, with their network.
Ramos, has been weighing reach expanding dramati- “For years we have been
her departure for several cally in recent years as the informing the Latino com-
years and says the time is Hispanic population has munity about their stories,”
right to pursue indepen- grown across the country. she said.
dent projects, including But their core viewership “Now it is time to tell their
some in English. is still made up of immi- stories to different audienc-
“It’s time to go find other grants and first-generation es in different platforms.”
audiences,” the 62-year- Americans who primarily Salinas began working for
old anchor said in an inter- speak Spanish and have Univision in Los Angeles in
view last week at the Univi- remained loyal to the net- 1981 after two years in ra-
sion studios outside Miami. work for years. dio.
Her departure comes at a Salinas, the California-born She eventually became
difficult time for many immi- daughter of Mexican im- host of the main nightly
grants who view the nightly migrants, can relate to news program and the
program as a lifeline for un- that audience and has no news magazine show
derstanding current events. qualms about turning to “Aqui y Ahora,” or “Here
President Donald Trump advocacy. and Now.”
campaigned on a pledge “If you are insulting an un- She has also interviewed
to crack down on illegal documented immigrant, a host of Latin American
immigration, and his ad- you may be insulting my leaders and every U.S. pres-
ministration has increased father or my cousin or my ident since Jimmy Carter
enforcement efforts and uncle or my neighbor,” she apart from Trump, who has
announced plans to can- said. not agreed to sit down with
cel several programs that Her views have also come her or Ramos and ejected
have allowed tens of thou- through in opinion col- her co-anchor from a news
sands of people without umns published on the conference during the
permanent residency sta- Univision website, her Twit- campaign.
tus to stay in the U.S. ter feed and an open let- Throughout her career,
Some advocates say im- ter that she sent to Trump she has picked up many
migrants will lose an impor- during the campaign after journalistic honors, includ-
tant voice when Salinas he described Mexican im- ing the National Academy
steps down this Friday. migrants as drug dealers. of Television Arts and Sci-
“She is someone who un- “You have to call things ences’ Lifetime Achieve-
derstands the situation,” by their name,” she wrote. ment Award, the Peabody
said Natalia Jaramillo, a “Enough with the racism Award, a Gracie Award for
spokeswoman for We Be- and the xenophobia.” Outstanding Anchor and
long Together, a group that Going forward, Salinas says seven Emmy awards.q
Screen Actors Guild Awards

taps first host: Kristen Bell

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The company of her acting col-
Screen Actors Guild Awards leagues. The SAG Awards
will have a host for the first recognize outstanding per-
time next year. formances in TV and film as
Executive producer Kathy chosen by members of the
Connell said Monday that actors’ union.
actress Kristen Bell will pre- Connell said the awards In this Nov. 9, 2017, file photo,
side over the 24th annual committee wanted to Kristen Bell arrives at the 2017
ceremony in January. “capture the cultural Patron of the Artists Awards at
Bell said in a statement mood” of change by the Wallis Annenberg Center
that she’s “a little nervous” breaking with its own tradi- for the Performing Arts in
about being the show’s first tion and having a host for Beverly Hills, Calif.
Associated Press
host but glad she’ll be in the its gala show. q