Ownership is king, or in this case Queen.

The recent launch of the Latino Media Network (LMN), made history as the largest media company launched by U.S. Latinas. Activist/entrepreneurs Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto executed the biggest capital raise for a Latina-owned & operated startup in the U.S with over $80M in capital raised from a diverse set of investors. The news also included the announcement of the signing of a major deal with TelevisaUnivision to acquire radio assets in 10 cities.

With the acquisition of the Latino radio stations from TelevisaUnivision, LMN will soon own radio stations in the top ten media markets in the U.S., including Miami, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York, Fresno, Chicago, McAllen, San Antonio and Dallas. Together these markets comprise a third of the U.S. Latino population.

“As Latinos drive population growth in the United States they continue to navigate the ocean of information on what is happening in the world and their place in it. With minority media on the decline, now is the time to be investing in more resources to create content for Latinos by Latinos. Through the unique combination of creative content and new and existing media platforms to serve our community, we can embrace cultural pride and collectively empower Latinos,” said LMN Founder Valencia. “I want to thank TelevisaUnivision for the great work they have done building these stations in Latino communities and entrusting us to grow them moving forward.”

LMN’s mission is to be a company owned by Latinos for Latinos. The company aims to help Latinos make sense of the world and their place in it by inspiring, informing and celebrating Latinos through an audio-focused multimedia network. The network will embrace cultural pride by telling Latino stories, addressing community concerns and exposing opportunities and resources.

“Media can make a difference and real change in our world. I’m so proud to be a part of Latino Media Network as together we will ensure that our media includes narratives that uplift our voices,” said Eva Longoria. “My mission is to tell and amplify all of our community’s stories so the world can see the joy, the power, and the heart of our community in ways that are still all too rare.” 

This dynamic duo, whose impressive backgrounds include fighting for workers and women of color at civil society and political organizations.  Valencia is an author and the founder of Equis and has held leadership roles in tech, philanthropy and government. Rocketto, a native of Norwalk, California, is Chief of Moonshots at Equis and a social entrepreneur and civil society leader.

Together, Valencia and Rocketto have assembled an impressive list of Board members, investors and advisors which include:

Maria Elena Salinas: Award-winning journalist and author, including co-anchor of Univision’s evening news for more than 30 years. Principal MES Multi-Media LLC.

Eva Longoria: Director, Actor, Activist, Philanthropist and Businesswoman. CEO and Founder, UnbeliEVAble Entertainment and Founder, Casa del Sol Tequila.

Dr. Eduardo Padrón: President Emeritus, Miami Dade College; Strategic Corporate Advisor; Board, Urban Institute. Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Al Cardenas: Board member Coral Gables Trust Co., Investor and Treasurer, American Business Immigration Coalition; former longtime Chair of the Republican Party of Florida, and former Chair of the American Conservative Union.

Maria Contreras Sweet: Co-Founder Pro-America Bank; former US Administrator of the Small Business Administration; former Secretary of Business and Transportation for the State of California.

Monica Lozano: Former publisher and CEO of La Opinión and CEO of its parent company, ImpreMedia, LLC. Currently on the board of Walt Disney Corporation, Apple, Inc. and Target Corporation.

Henry R. Muñoz III: An American activist, business leader, designer & philanthropist. He has launched national movements including Momento Latino, TheDream.US and Latino Victory to support the Latino community through awareness, college funding and electoral support.

Luis Ubiñas: Investor, advisor, and corporate board member. Former President Ford Foundation, Senior Partner McKinsey and Company. Current corporate director at AT&T, Chairman, Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

Tom Castro: Founder and CEO of El Dorado Capital: radio entrepreneur, investor, and corporate director. Has bought and sold over 50 radio stations serving the Latino community. Currently on the boards of Nielsen and Cumulus Media. Former Director of Time Warner.

Juleyka Lantigua: Founder/CEO, LWC Studios: Peabody-nominated audio creator, former NPR, Atlantic Media, and Random House.

Tom Chavez: Hi-tech entrepreneur, author and co-founder of super{set}, a startup studio that builds and funds software companies.

Christy Haubegger: Founder, Latina magazine and current Executive Vice President, Chief Enterprise Inclusion Officer and Head of Marketing & Communications, at WarnerMedia.

Alicia Bassuk: Founder of Ubica Leadership Strategies, advising senior executives including public, private and nonprofit sectors, and championship sports franchises globally. Bassuk is a partner and investor in several ventures, including Kinzie Capital Partners and Core Innovation Capital.

Jess Morales Rocketto: Chief of Moonshot Strategies at Equis. Co-Founder of Families Belong Together, Poderistas, and Supermajority. Formerly National Domestic Workers Alliance, Hillary for America, Obama for America.

Stephanie Valencia: Co-Founder and President at Equis. Co-founder of Poderistas, Latino Talent Initiative, The Latina Collective, and Latinos44. Formerly Google, Obama White House, United States Congress.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, Fletcher Heald, and Herrera Arellano all advised on the deal.

The transition of the stations will happen The deal will be complete following FCC approval and a one-year transition agreement between TelevisaUnivision and Latino Media Network, which is expected to conclude in Q4 of 2023. LMN is in the process of recruiting outstanding talent and will make an announcement about the senior management team later this year.

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Singers Selena Gomez and Gloria “Goyo” Martinez, broadcast journalist María Elena Salinas and entertainment attorney Angela N. Martinez have been chosen as 2020 Leading Ladies of Entertainment by the Latin Recording Academy.

The Leading Ladies of Entertainment is an initiative that honors and recognizes professional and socially conscious women within the arts and entertainment fields who have made significant  contributions, inspiring the next generation of female leaders, according to the Academy. The recognition has become part of the annual Latin Grammy Week celebration leading up to the Latin Grammy Awards.

This year’s Leading Ladies of Entertainment honorees will be acknowledged during a virtual ceremony on Nov. 17 due to the Covid pandemic. Two-time Latin Grammy winner and Grammy nominee, singer, songwriter and actress Erika Ender, who herself was among the 2017 Leading Ladies of Entertainment, will host. The Latin Grammy Awards will take place two days later.

“Every year, not only am I amazed at the group selected to receive the Leading Ladies of Entertainment distinction, but also proud to celebrate and honor such distinguished leaders who have forged paths for so many,” said Gabriel Abaroa Jr., Latin Recording Academy president. “These four successful women are passionate, driven and extraordinarily inspirational. We are grateful for the positive impact they have on our communities and the example they set for the next generation of leaders, demonstrating that anything is possible.”

SELENA GOMEZ
Gomez is a singer, actress and producer. As a pop vocalist and recording artist, Gomez has achieved tremendous commercial success, selling more than 145 million singles worldwide and garnering over 25 billion global streams. “Lose You to Love Me,” the first single off her critically acclaimed album Rare, marked a historic moment for the singer as she landed her first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As an actress, she starred in Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, the Academy Award-nominated film The Big Short opposite Brad Pitt and Ryan Gosling, and Fundamentals of Caring alongside Paul Rudd

Gomez also serves as an executive producer of the hit Netflix original series 13 Reasons Why. She has used her platform to speak out on social causes throughout her career and went on to executive produce the critically acclaimed Netflix docu-series Living Undocumented, which created much-needed exposure and discussion regarding the polarizing issue of undocumented people living in the United States. In addition, Gomez serves as executive producer of the new HBO Max cooking show Selena + Chef as well as the recently released feature film Broken Hearts Gallery. She will also be the executive producer and will star, along with comedy legends Steve Martin and Martin Short, in the upcoming Hulu series Only Murders in the Building.

GLORIA ‘GOYO’ MARTÍNEZ
As the passionate, soulful voice of Colombia’s Latin Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated trio ChocQuibTown, Martínez has become one of the most rousing and conscious lyricists in Latin music. The Afro-Colombian singer, rapper and composer has also been championing more inclusivity and equality since the start of her career.

Born in Chocó, a department in Colombia nestled along the Pacific coast, Martínez grew up in a vibrant, musical household. Her favorite track growing up was “Goyito Sabater” by El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which endearingly earned her the nickname Goyo. With ChocQuibTown, Goyo has navigated spaces in urban, alternative and tropical genres, while always representing their love of Colombian folklore. This ability to maneuver seamlessly across musical styles has linked them to noteworthy collaborations with artists such as Tego Calderón, Farruko, Carlos Santana, Carlos Vives and Zion & Lennox.

ANGELA N. MARTINEZ
A Miami native, Martinez has been working in the music business for the past 20 years. She has garnered experience working in-house at BMG US Latin, Universal Music Publishing Group and EMI Music Latin America.

In addition to her corporate experience, she has worked independently with top artists, songwriters and producers such as Mike Bahía, Claudia Brant, Camilo, Mau y Ricky, Luis Fonsi, Ricardo Montaner, Pitbull and Ozuna, to mention a few. Billboard magazine has recognized Martinez as a “Top Music Attorney” for two consecutive years and she recently received the 2020 “Wonder Woman of Latin Music” award from the Latin Alternative Music Conference.

MARÍA ELENA SALINAS
Salinas is an award-winning journalist and author. She joined CBS News as a contributor in 2019 and previously served as co-anchor of Univision‘s evening news program for more than 30 years. Her work has earned the top awards presented in broadcasting, including multiple Emmys, a Peabody, Gracie Awards, the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.

A versatile and bilingual journalist, Salinas has interviewed every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter. She was one of the first female journalists in wartime Baghdad, participated in the 2004 bilingual debate on Hispanic issues and in 2007 co-hosted the first Democratic and Republican presidential candidate forums in Spanish for Univision.

Salinas is a founding member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists and for over two decades has provided dozens of journalism students with a scholarship in her name.

The Latin Recording Academy is an international nonprofit that aims at nurturing, celebrating, honoring and elevating Latin music and its creators. It produces the annual Latin Grammy Awards, which honor excellence in the recording arts and sciences.

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“This is a hopeful start to increased representation, but we need to also see Latinos as correspondents and anchors in New York City to have real and adequate representation.”

Nearly two months after the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) called upon the American Latino community and communities of conscious to boycott CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News broadcasts in the wake of Latino exclusion in anchor and correspondent roles in New York City, CBS News’ president and senior executive producer Susan Zirinsky announced in a press release that former longtime Univision newscaster Maria Elena Salinas has been hired as a contributor across CBS’ broadcasts and platforms, and to frequently take part in the 2020 election coverage. 
NHMC announced the viewer boycott on May 29, 2019 after Zirinsky overhauled CBS News in part to help boost the network’s ratings, which have lagged behind ABC and NBC. Back then, the racial/ethnic makeup of the new co-anchors and four correspondents were two African Americans, one Haitian/French, and the rest were Caucasian. 

Nearly two months after the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) called upon the American Latino community and communities of conscious to boycott CBS This Morning and CBS Evening News broadcasts in the wake of Latino exclusion in anchor and correspondent roles in New York City, CBS News’ president and senior executive producer Susan Zirinsky announced in a press release that former longtime Univision newscaster Maria Elena Salinas has been hired as a contributor across CBS’ broadcasts and platforms, and to frequently take part in the 2020 election coverage. 
NHMC announced the viewer boycott on May 29, 2019, after Zirinsky overhauled CBS News in part to help boost the network’s ratings, which have lagged behind ABC and NBC. Back then, the racial/ethnic makeup of the new co-anchors and four correspondents were two African Americans, one Haitian/French, and the rest were Caucasian. 

In a phone conversation with Zirinsky on May 23, 2019, Alex Nogales, president and CEO of the NHMC, said Zirinsky explained that she was not able to “find” a Latino to fill any one of those new spots, even though at the time CBS News had 6 Latino correspondents out of 78 on-camera journalists, which equals to 7.6% of their staff roster. After Zirinsky asked Nogales if the Latino community could assist her in locating a Latino to fill an on-air role, Nogales refused by saying “he has heard this excuse before” and that Zirinsky “deliberately overlooked” many “qualified Latino journalists” who could fill a top job in New York City as a correspondent or anchor. Nogales asserted that this exclusion was not a case of “unconscious bias.”

Meanwhile, other Latino civil rights organizations have also contacted the NHMC over their concerns about the overall exclusion of Latinos at CBS News. NHMC is in collaboration with these organizations to continue to put pressure and hold Zirinsky accountable for not fully embracing diversity and inclusion at the top tiers of the network in New York City. 

Alex Nogales, NHMC president, and CEO has issued the following statement: 

“Hiring Maria Elena Salinas, one of the most respected and trusted news sources in the U.S., is a hopeful start to increase on-camera representation at CBS, and we congratulate Maria Elena in her new and important role.
However, hiring one outstanding journalist in the field after the network’s overhaul in May is simply not enough. Zirinsky must hire a Latino correspondent or anchor on either CBS This Morning or CBS Evening News, which is taped out of their main studios in New York City – a highly desirable location every talent aspires to work at. We need to see our community, and other communities of color, represented at that level, on-air and behind the anchor desk in order to have real and adequate representation at the network. Until then, NHMC will continue to call for a viewer boycott of CBS news broadcasts.”

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