Maria Elena Salinas

María Elena Salinas is a broadcast journalist recognized for her contributions to Spanish-language news and Hispanic media in the United States. Referred to as the "Voice of Hispanic America" by The New York Times, Salinas became an anchor of "Noticiero Univision," the national Spanish-language evening news broadcast on Univision, nearly two decades before Katie Couric became the first woman to anchor a network broadcast in English. Salinas identified the ongoing need for Spanish-language journalism to cover the Hispanic community in America, despite predictions that Latino assimilation would diminish its relevance.

With a career spanning nearly four decades, including more than 30 years as co-anchor of Univision's evening news, Salinas has interviewed world leaders and covered major national and international news events, including elections, natural disasters, and armed conflicts. She has interviewed every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter and conducted interviews with figures such as Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Panama's Manuel Noriega, and Chile's Augusto Pinochet. Alongside co-anchor Jorge Ramos, Salinas witnessed the growth of Spanish-language news from a small operation to a significant force in American media, highlighted by hosting the first Democratic and Republican presidential candidate forums in Spanish on Univision.

Salinas has received multiple industry honors, including several Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, three Gracie Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award, and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism. She is the first Latina to receive a lifetime achievement Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has been inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame. Her documentary special "Entre el Abandono y el Rechazo" (Between Abandonment and Rejection), which examined the experiences of Central American children migrating to the United States, earned her a Peabody Award, Walter Cronkite Award, and Gracie Award.

Salinas has reported on elections in both the United States and Mexico, anchored documentaries and investigative reports, and was among the first female journalists to report from wartime Baghdad. She hosted and co-executive produced the true crime series "The Real Story with Maria Elena Salinas" for Investigation Discovery and Discovery+. Salinas contributed to CBS News, reporting across platforms including election coverage and the documentary "Pandemia: Latinos In Crisis," which explored the impact of COVID-19 on the Latinx community. She later joined ABC News as a contributor and consultant to the Race and Culture Unit, contributing to "Nightline" and election coverage focused on the Latino vote.

Salinas is the author of the autobiography "I Am My Father's Daughter, Living a Life Without Secrets." She is one of the few Hispanic syndicated columnists in the United States, with her column published in more than 55 newspapers in both Spanish and English. A founding member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Salinas has provided scholarships to students under her name for more than two decades. She also hosts the independent podcast "Cinco Preguntas," continuing her work in Hispanic media and journalism.