Hispanic TV Vet Set For NAB Hall Call

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salinas_hiOne of the most visible female anchors on Spanish-language television in the U.S. is being inducted into the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame.


Maria Elena Salinas, co-anchor of Univision‘s network newscasts, will be saluted for her efforts and officially entered into the Hall at the 2017 NAB Show Television Luncheon, set for Monday, April 24 in Las Vegas.

Salinas’ career dates to 1981, when she served as a reporter, anchor, and public affairs host for KMEX-34 in Los Angeles — today Univision’s West Coast flagship but at the time tied to predecessor Spanish International Network (SIN).  With the launch of satellite TV broadcasting and cable channels, SIN invested in local programming — thus launching Salinas’ 36 years in Hispanic television.

She became co-anchor of Noticiero Univision, the national Spanish-language news program aired by Univision, in 1987. Salinas was paired with Jorge Ramos, perhaps the most visible face of Hispanic TV in the U.S. today.

Salinas was honored in 2012 with an Emmy award for Lifetime Achievement from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, becoming the first Latina to be feted in this category.

“María Elena Salinas is an outstanding example of the profound effect broadcast television can have on the audiences it serves,” said NAB EVP/Television Marcellus Alexander. “María has a deep connection to the needs of the Latino community, and she represents their interests on and off the screen.”

In addition to her journalism career, Salinas has served as the spokeswoman for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) for nearly two decades during their campaign to increase Latino voter engagement.

Previous NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame television inductees include executive producer and writer Chuck Lorre, who joined the Hall of Fame in 2016.