Emmy, Peabody and Alfred Dupont award-winning journalist José Díaz-Balart, anchor of Telemundo’s national daily newscast “Noticias Telemundo” and of “NBC Nightly News Saturday,” has been named the first recipient of the 2017 Latinovator Award of the eighth annual Hispanicize 2017 Week, April 3-6 (www.HispanicizeEvent.com).
“José’s numerous achievements and his unique position as the only anchor of both a national Spanish-language and English-language TV network have established him as one of the most recognizable Latinos in ALL journalism today and an incredible candidate for the Latinovator Award,” said Manny Ruiz, founder and CEO of the Hispanicize Media Group that owns the Hispanicize Event.
In addition to hosting the two network news shows, Diaz-Balart also hosts Telemundo’s Sunday current affairs program “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart,” and is a regular contributor to NBC’s “Meet the Press”. This is the second time in his career that Diaz-Balart hosts two national newscasts in Spanish and English, as he has previously been the daily news anchor for both ‘Noticias Telemundo’ and the daily morning newscast “MSNBC Live with José Díaz-Balart.”
Díaz-Balart began his career in 1983 and over the past 32 years has witnessed and reported historic events for prestigious news media around the world. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including four Emmy awards, the George Foster Peabody Award, an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award, and the Broadcasting & Cable/Multichannel News 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. He was recently honored with the Life Achievement Award by the Hispanic Federation and the Communications Award by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).
Established in 2012, the Latinovator Awards recognize Latino celebrities, business professionals and other high achievers who have become crossover successes or whose stories of achievements are remarkable or inspirational. Each of the innovators will be presented individually with their awards at a special general session and discuss their inspirations, challenges, business habits and road to success.
Previous Latinovator recipients include acting legend Rita Moreno, television icon Don Francisco, veteran actor Luis Guzman, journalist Soledad O’Brien, iconic producer Emilio Estefan, news anchor Maria Elena Salinas, famed musician Sheila E., Cuban dissident and blogger Yoani Sanchez, actor Carlos Ponce and others.