Maria Elena Salinas receives
Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award

by Laura Uhlmann

October 2, 2012 -- Maria Elena Salinas, member of the IWMF Board of Directors and news anchor at the Spanish-language television network Univision, was awarded the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the 33rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York City yesterday.

In an interview, Salinas told the IWMF that she was both overwhelmed and deeply honored by her nomination: “When I received the email announcing that my colleague Jorge Ramos and I are receiving the award, I had to read it three times. I was really surprised!” She further explained that receiving the Lifetime Achievement Emmy as the first Hispanic journalists is a historic moment in Ramos’ and her careers. “To have our peers in the mainstream media recognize our work regardless of the language we report in is truly an honor.”

The Hispanic journalist with Mexican roots started her career as a reporter for KMEX-34 television in Los Angeles in 1981. Her insightful work has quickly earned her the credibility that would lead to her assuming the anchor chair of “Noticiero Univision” in 1987. As co-anchor of the highly rated “Noticiero Univision” and the primetime news magazine “Aquí y Ahora”, she has informed the majority of the U.S. Hispanic population about major news events in the last quarter century, making her one of the most recognized and influential Hispanic journalists.

Yesterday's Emmy Awards ceremony was attended by more than 1,000 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. The Awards were presented in 42 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.