Press release from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences:

New York, N.Y. — June 28, 2012–Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, longtime co-anchors of Univision’s evening newscast “Noticiero Univision” and pioneers of Spanish-language broadcasting in the U.S., will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) at the 33rd Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards. The award will be presented on October 1, 2012 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Home of Jazz at Lincoln Center, located in the Time Warner Center in New York City.

“The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences is delighted to honor Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas, the co-anchors of Univision’s nightly newscast, with our prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Malachy Wienges, Chairman, NATAS. “The majority of the U.S. Hispanic population receives the news of the world first and foremost from these two brilliant reporters who continue to be the voice, the conscience and the heart of Hispanic America across the country. We are happy to honor their work which sits amongst the very best news reporting in any language.”

Ramos and Salinas are the most recognized and influential Hispanic journalists in the U.S. Ramos has been called “the Walter Cronkite of Hispanic news,” and the New York Times has called Salinas “the voice of Hispanic America.” As co–anchors of “Noticiero Univision”, Univision Network’s flagship nightly newscast, they reach 96 percent of Hispanic Americans living in the United States averaging nearly two million viewers every night. “Noticiero Univision” is the most watched Spanish language newscast in the U.S., and regularly competes with other national network newscasts in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Houston.

Ramos and Salinas have produced distinguished coverage of major news events in the last quarter century. Between them they have interviewed every sitting U.S. President since George H.W. Bush, and almost all of the major Presidential candidates, as well as dozens of Latin American presidents and political figures. They have covered all of the major national and international news stories of the past 25 years, including the civil war in El Salvador, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the Persian Gulf War, the Kosovo War, 9/11, the Iraq War, and Hurricane Katrina. In 2007 Ramos and Salinas made history by co-hosting the first ever Democratic and Republican presidential candidate forums in Spanish on the Univision Network.

Jorge Ramos came to the United States as a student in 1983. In November 1986, at age 28, he became one of the youngest national news anchors in the history of American television. Since then, he has been called “the voice of the voiceless” for other immigrants like him.

In addition to serving as co-anchor of “Noticiero Univision,” Ramos hosts “Al Punto,” Univision’s weekly public affairs program, offering in-depth analysis of the week’s top stories and exclusive interviews with newsmakers. He writes a weekly column for more than 40 newspapers in the United States and Latin America, and provides radio commentary for Univision Radio. He has been a guest on national programs such as ABC’s This Week, NBC’s Today Show, CBS’ Early Show, and CNN’s John King USA, among others. He is the author of 10 books and bestsellers, most recently “A Country For All: An Immigrant Manifesto” (Vintage/Random House 2010). He has received numerous awards including the Maria Moors Cabot Award presented by the Columbia University Journalism School, and eight Emmy® Awards.

Maria Elena Salinas was born in Los Angeles to Mexican immigrant parents and began her journalism career in 1981 at KMEX 34 in Los Angeles, now a Univision affiliate station. Her insightful reporting on the impact of daily news to the increasingly growing Hispanic community of Southern California earned her the credibility that would lead her to assume the anchor chair at “Noticiero Univision” in 1987, becoming one of the first women in the U.S. to co-anchor a national nightly newscast.

Salinas also co-hosts newsmagazine “Aqui y Ahora,” and is a radio analyst on Latino issues. She is one of the few Hispanic syndicated columnists in the United States, where her column is published in both Spanish and English, as well as on Univision.com and her own website MariaESalinas.com. In 2006 her memoir entitled “I Am My Father’s Daughter: Living A Life Without Secrets” was published and became a best seller for Spanish Language books. Salinas has received four Emmy® Awards, and was part of the Univision team that won the Edward R. Murrow Award for the network’s coverage of the Atlanta Olympic park bombings.

The News & Documentary Emmy® Awards are annually attended by more than 1,000 television and news media industry executives, news and documentary producers and journalists. Emmy® Awards are presented in 41 categories, including Breaking News, Investigative Reporting, Outstanding Interview, and Best Documentary, among others.
About The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) is a professional service organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of television and the promotion of creative leadership for artistic, educational and technical achievements within the television industry. It recognizes excellence in television with the coveted Emmy® Award for News & Documentary, Sports, Daytime Entertainment, Daytime Creative Arts & Entertainment, Public & Community Service, and Technology & Engineering. Regional Emmy® Awards are given in 19 regions across the United States. NATAS also presents the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Global Media Awards™ which recognizes excellence in the world-wide intersection of digital entertainment and technology. Emmy® Awards given out for primetime programming are presented by our sister organization, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). Beyond awards, NATAS has extensive educational programs including Regional Student Television and its Student Award for Excellence for outstanding journalistic work by high school students, as well as scholarships, publications, and major activities for both industry professionals and the viewing public. For more information, please visit the website at www.emmyonline.tv