MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Univision News, the award-winning news division of Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, has designated Ilia Calderón as the new co-anchor of Univision Network’s flagship evening newscast, “Noticiero Univision.” Calderón will take over María Elena Salinas’s anchor chair in mid-December, joining Jorge Ramos on weeknights at 6:30 p.m. ET/PT.
With this new appointment, Calderón makes history by becoming the first Afro-Latina to anchor an evening newscast for a major broadcast network in the United States; she had formerly achieved a similar milestone in her native Colombia, where she was the first black woman to ever host a national news program in that country: “Noticiero CMI.” In addition to succeeding Salinas on “Noticiero Univision,” Calderón will also serve as co-host of Univision’s primetime newsmagazine, “Aquí y Ahora” (Here and Now), which airs on Sunday nights, alongside Teresa Rodríguez.
Throughout her distinguished career in broadcast journalism, which spans over two decades, Calderón has received prestigious recognitions, including an Emmy award. She has earned the respect and admiration of audiences across Latin America and the U.S. for her poised and direct journalistic style, thorough coverage of major news events, and incisive interviews with global celebrities and important political leaders. This past August, she won international acclaim – and scored another first – when she interviewed Ku Klux Klan leader Chris Barker in his home in North Carolina for a special edition of “Aquí y Ahora.” Using an offensive epithet, Barker told Calderón she was the first black person to enter his property, and went on to insult and threaten her throughout the interview while she stoically held her ground and continued asking questions.
“We are delighted that Ilia Calderón will join Jorge Ramos at the helm of ‘Noticiero Univision’ beginning next month,” said Daniel Coronell, president, Univision News. “Ilia’s professionalism and experience, together with her personal charisma, journalistic integrity, knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic community and proven appeal with our diverse audience make her the ideal person to succeed María Elena Salinas. We are confident that Ilia’s contributions will be instrumental in maintaining the standard of excellence that María Elena and Jorge have set for the newscast over more than three decades and that millions of viewers expect from ‘Noticiero Univision’ every day. We welcome Ilia to the evening news and wish her much success.”
“It is a great honor and an enormous responsibility for me to sit in María Elena Salinas’s anchor chair,” expressed Calderón. “María Elena has been an invaluable voice for the Hispanic community in this country, an icon of excellence in journalism and a role model for millions of Latinas, so I know I have big shoes to fill. I’m very excited to accept this new challenge as co-anchor of Hispanic America’s most trusted newscast. To the millions of loyal viewers of ‘Noticiero Univision,’ I promise to give you my very best every evening, continuing to honor Univision’s commitment to inform and empower Hispanic America like no other news organization in the American media landscape.”
Born to a bi-racial and culturally diverse family in the Chocó region of Colombia, Calderón launched her journalism career in 1994 as the anchor of a local newscast in the country’s second largest city, Medellín. In 1997 she moved to Bogotá, where she hosted the national newscast “Noticiero CMI” until 2001. After relocating to Miami, Florida, she worked as a news anchor for the international cable network Telemundo Internacional, co-anchored the weekend newscast for the Telemundo broadcast network, and later co-hosted the network’s weekday morning program “Cada Día con María Antonieta Collins.”
She joined Univision in 2007 as co-anchor of the weekend edition of its daily newsmagazine “Primer Impacto,” and in 2009 she was promoted to co-host of the show’s principal edition, airing Monday through Friday. Calderón became co-anchor of “Noticiero Univision: Edición Nocturna” in 2011.
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About Univision News
Univision’s award-winning News division is committed to informing the country’s fastest growing segment across all media platforms, including TV, Radio, and Interactive. Hispanics count on the latest and most relevant content that impacts the community through: “Noticiero Univision,” the Network’s evening, late evening and weekend national newscast; Sunday public affairs program “Al Punto” (To The Point); newsmagazine shows “Aquí y Ahora” (Here and Now) and “Primer Impacto” (First Impact); as well as morning news segments on “Despierta América” (Wake Up America). Univision has strengthened its news team and expanded its news operations by adding Investigative and Documentary Units.
About Univision Communications Inc.
Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) is the leading media company serving Hispanic America. The Company, a leading content creator in the U.S., includes Univision Network, one of the leading networks in the U.S. regardless of language and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the country available in approximately 90% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network available in approximately 85% of U.S. Hispanic television households; Univision Cable Networks, including Galavisión, the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language entertainment cable network, as well as UDN (Univision Deportes Network), the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language sports cable network, Univision tlnovelas, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to telenovelas, ForoTV, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to international news, and an additional suite of cable offerings - De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson and Telehit; Univision Local Media, which owns and/or operates 59 television stations and 64 radio stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; and Univision Now, a direct-to-consumer, on demand and live streaming subscription service. The Company also includes the Fusion Media Group (FMG), a division that serves young, diverse audiences. FMG includes two cable networks: news and lifestyle English-language network FUSION TV and UCI’s interest in El Rey Network, a general entertainment English-language cable network; Univision.com, the most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics; Uforia, a music application featuring multimedia music content; as well as a collection of leading digital brands that span a range of categories: technology (Gizmodo), sports (Deadspin), music (TrackRecord), lifestyle (Lifehacker), modern women’s interests (Jezebel), news and politics (Splinter), African American news and culture (The Root), gaming (Kotaku), and car culture (Jalopnik). FMG also includes the Company’s interest in comedy and news satire brands The Onion, Clickhole and The A.V. Club. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has content creation facilities and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit corporate.univision.com.
