Anchor Dunia Elvir is back on the air after a short-term suspension at KVEA Telemundo 52 in Los Angeles.
She returned to anchoring the 12, 5 and 5:30 pm weekday newscasts yesterday.
KVEA management pulled her off the desk on January 10, following social media uproar over the appearance of a conflict of interest during an interview she conducted with Enot Rubio, the president of a Los Angeles-based Salvadoran community organization, because a line in her bio on the station’s website stated she was a member of the organization. That bio has been scrubbed from the website.
Elvir, who has worked for Telemundo since 2002, has not responded to requests for comment about her temporary removal from the newscasts.
At the time of the suspension, a station spokesperson would not confirm the reasons behind Elvir’s absence from the air, but provided Media Moves with this statement:
“At Telemundo 52 Los Angeles, we have an uncompromising commitment to integrity and abide to the highest journalistic standards. Our newsroom strives to report accurately and objectively. Our news team works with transparency to deliver information to our viewers that can be trusted and is void of conflicting interests or bias. Some of our viewers have voiced concerns about a story we reported surrounding a community based organization and an appeared conflict of interest with one of our journalists. We have revisited our standards and taken corrective measures to prevent similar instances from occurring in the future. Maintaining credibility and respect of our audience and employees is our utmost priority.”
Media Moves reached out to Enot Rubio, president of Comité Salvadoreño El Piche, the organization in question, for comment regarding whether Elvir has ever been a member of his organization.
In a voice message, Rubio emphatically stated “Dunia Elvir has never, never been a member of the Comité Salvadoreño El Piche.”*
Media Moves also contacted VP of News Rubén Keoseyán to inquire how the interview was obtained, who cleared the questions, who decided to have Elvir conduct the highly sought-after interview and why the second part of that interview never aired.
To date, Media Moves has not received a response from Keoseyán.
*Updated 1/30, date when voice message was received.