Washington, DC, August 8, 2005 - Maria Hinojosa, an award-winning journalist and author, has joined the acclaimed PBS newsmagazine NOW as senior correspondent. Hinojosa, who formerly covered urban affairs for CNN, will begin work at the Emmy-winning PBS series immediately. She will continue as anchor of National Public Radio's Latino USA, a weekly national program reporting on news and culture in the Latino community.
"We're delighted to have someone with Maria's reportorial depth join our team," says NOW executive producer John Siceloff. "She brings the kind of grit to reporting that is rare in broadcast journalism today, and she has illuminated the stories of unsung heroes, which is a hallmark of our broadcast. It's a natural fit."
"Maria is a strong and lively addition to this award-winning team and we're thrilled to have her on board," said Jacoba Atlas, senior vice president, PBS Programming.
Hinojosa has garnered many awards and honors, including the Ruben Salazar Award from the National Council of La Raza, an award that recognizes a journalist's outstanding body of work. She has been named one of the "25 Most Influential Working Mothers in America" by Working Mother magazine, and three times over the past decade Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the 100 most influential Latinos in the United States.
Before joining CNN in 1997, Hinojosa spent six years at National Public Radio as a New York-based general assignment correspondent. During this time, she also hosted Visiones, a public-affairs talk show on WNBC-TV in New York. Her personal experiences as a Mexican-American career woman, wife and mother living in New York were published in 1999 in her critically acclaimed memoir, Raising Raul: An Adventure Raising Myself and My Son. In 1995 she published Crews: Gang Members Talk with Maria Hinojosa, a book based on her award-winning NPR report.
NOW, which is hosted by David Brancaccio, airs Friday nights at 8:30 p.m. on PBS (check local listings) and is a production of JumpStart Productions, LLC in association with Thirteen/WNET New York.
About PBS
PBS is a private, nonprofit media enterprise that serves the nation's 348 public noncommercial television stations, reaching nearly 90 million people each week. Bringing diverse viewpoints to television and the Internet, PBS provides high-quality documentary and dramatic entertainment, and consistently dominates the most prestigious award competitions. PBS is the leading provider of educational materials for K-12 teachers, and offers a broad array of educational services for adult learners. Video resources for educators are available at www.shoppbs.com/teachers. PBS' premier kids' TV programming and Web site, PBS KIDS Online (pbskids.org), continue to be parents' and teachers' most trusted learning environments for children. More information about PBS is available at pbs.org, the leading dot-org Web site on the Internet. PBS is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia.
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CONTACT:
Rick Byrne
NOW
Ph: 212/560-8406
Email: ByrneR@thirteen.org
Carrie Johnson
PBS
Ph: 703/739-5129
Email: cjohnson@pbs.org