• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
MENUMENU
  • About
  • Send News Tips

Media Moves

Covering Latinos in the Media Industry

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
  • Send News Tips
  • People
  • TV & Radio
  • Programming
  • Print
  • Digital
  • Job Board
  • Archives
Monica Navarro

Monica Navarro beats odds, celebrates 37 years at Univision San Antonio

August 6, 2020 by Veronica Villafañe

In an industry that favors youth over experience – at least for women – one longtime reporter and anchor has managed to beat the odds in Spanish-language television.

Mónica Navarro is celebrating 37 years at Univision San Antonio.

She arrived at the Texas station, then SIN (Spanish International Network), in July 1983 and is still going strong, having successfully navigated company ownership and management changes throughout the decades.

“Can you imagine how many experiences I’ve had through all these years? Good ones and bad ones. Ten different General Managers, 7 News Directors, each of them with different mentalities new plans etc, and I survived,” she tells Media Moves. “I successfully filled almost 30 years in the same title position by reporting every day from the field and also being a news anchor. Between the different hairdos, being pregnant and coming back, several decades worth of fashion changes, sometimes with some extra pounds, I can say this has been quite an experience.”

Navarro shares she worked hard and remained focused, despite hardships along the way.

“Sometimes it was very tough, because for many years, I was also a full-time single mother and caretaker for my own mother, who was ill. After every low point in my life, I was able to pick myself back up and remind myself of the resilience and passion I had for my career… with consistency, confidence and effort, I reinvented myself.”

Monica Navarro
Monica Navarro was part of Univision 41’s anchor team in the 1980s.

She adjusted to changes in the business, and after leaving the anchor desk, went back out on the field, becoming an investigative and medical reporter and producer at the station, most recently hosting a weekly show called “Healthy Texas.”

“The Industry is in constant change. I decided to become a video photographer and editor of my own stories. Can you imagine a 60+ year-old reporter learning all that technology? It was a big challenge,” she says. “And then, with things like social media, where the amount of followers you have may be are more important than the content you put out there….It is a new era…. It’s been challenging, but also very fun to learn things like finding the right background, hash-tagging, carrying around selfie sticks wherever I go…even doing live shots with the cell phone. Learning to be a “one-man band” has been useful, especially now, with the current pandemic and not being able to go to the news station, and working from home.”

Prior to her move to San Antonio, Navarro was already a broadcast pioneer. She was the first female national sportscaster in Mexico. She spent 9 years at Televisa, where she worked as a sports reporter.

“I feel very satisfied that looking back at my career path, I opened the doors for women in this field in Mexico.”

Monica Navarro - Televisa late 1970s
Monica Navarro with longtime Televisa anchor Jacobo Zabludovsky in the 1970s.

The multi-Emmy award-winning journalist, who was inducted to the NATAS Lone Star Chapter Silver Circle in 2015, is aware that not many women are allowed to “age” their way to retirement in a newsroom, but keeps a positive outlook.

“Getting older is inevitable, but it is possible to age with grace, dignity, a good attitude and thinking that age is just a number,” she emphasizes. “When faced with obstacles in your professional and personal life, it’s imperative to remain full of faith, resilience, consistency and passion….I’m grateful that Univision 41 has allowed me to continue my career as a journalist in all these different stages of my life for 37 years, and I hope to continue to do it for many more years.”

Filed Under: People Tagged With: Monica Navarro, Univision San Antonio

Primary Sidebar

Veronica Villafañe, Editor & Publisher

Emmy award-winning journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Currently a reporter for Voice of America, she has worked as an on-air reporter, anchor, writer and producer for Spanish and English-language TV, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox 11 News in L.A. and the San Jose Mercury News.

Hispanic media and entertainment contributor to Forbes.

Full bio here
Maria Paula Ochoa

María Paula Ochoa lands anchor role at Univision San Diego

May 24, 2023

Mike Gaytan

Mike Gaytán to take over as KVEA 52 VP of News

May 23, 2023

Sara Cardona

Sara Cardona heads to WTVJ as sports anchor

May 19, 2023

Alyssa Flores

Alyssa Flores has left TV news for UC comms job

May 16, 2023

Allison Rodriguez

Allison Rodriguez joins KPNX as morning anchor

May 11, 2023

VIEW ALL ARTICLES

Secondary Sidebar

Media Moves is a mission-driven digital publication aimed at raising the visibility of Latinos in the media. Since its inception in 2007, the site has covered thousands of stories. To keep moving forward, we need your help. That’s why we launched a crowdfunding campaign.

Learn more about why Media Moves needs your support here.

You can contribute to the campaign clicking the button below.

SUPPORT MEDIA MOVES
Get the week’s stories in your inbox. The Media Moves Wrap newsletter is sent Friday mornings.
SUBSCRIBE
Veronica Villafañe, Editor & Publisher

Emmy award-winning journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). Currently a reporter for Voice of America, she has worked as an on-air reporter, anchor, writer and producer for Spanish and English-language TV, print and online media, including Univision, Telemundo, Fox 11 News in L.A. and the San Jose Mercury News.

Hispanic media and entertainment contributor to Forbes.

Full bio here
Copyright © 2023 Media Moves · All Rights Reserved | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy