For the first time ever in the history of Spanish-language television, an on-air personality from Univision will appear on Telemundo.
Telemundo news anchor José Díaz-Balart interviewed Univision’s Jorge Ramos about his new book “Stranger: The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era” and had a discussion about the present and future of the Latino community, the impact of the Trump presidency, journalism and activism, among other topics.
That unprecedented conversation between the two rival anchors airs today, March 12 at 6:30 pm ET during the “Noticias Telemundo” newscast.
“It took us 30 years to achieve this. Networks often interview people from the competition. But this had never happened on Spanish television,” Ramos tells Media Moves. “This speaks of the maturity we have reached in the industry and the political moment we’re living in the United States. Talking about my book ‘Stranger’ was the excuse to do something really historic.”
And historic it is. Promoting rival network talent was unheard of until 2015, when Telemundo honored longtime Univision host Mario Kreutzberger, aka “Don Francisco” for his lifelong contributions to Spanish-language television.
In that instance, however, Univision had just canceled his long-running show “Sábado Gigante,” and eventually, the TV icon hopped over to Telemundo, where he signed a multi-year production deal.
So how did the Telemundo Ramos interview happen?
“Telemundo news president Luis Fernández came up with the idea, and the Univision news department immediately supported it,” says Ramos. “It was a simple agreement. They would film the interview and air it on Monday. We, at Univision, will release the digital version at the same time.”
A Univision spokesperson says they consider “the interview as something normal….Just in the last few days Jorge has appeared on CNN and Fox News, among many other cable and TV networks.”
About the unusual promotion of one of Univision’s most recognizable on-air personalities, a Telemundo spokesperson simply states: “it’s just us innovating, trying to redefine the media landscape with a broader more inclusive strategy.”