Díaz-Balart to co-anchor Local news at Telemundo 52 in LA

Emmy-award winning journalist José Díaz-Balart will be based in Los Angeles the week of May 9-13, where he will co-anchor Telemundo 52 Los Angeles / KVEA’s local weekday newscast, Noticiero Telemundo 52 at 6 PM, alongside local news anchors Julio Vaqueiro and Ana Patricia Candiani, while continuing to present, also from Los Angeles, the “Noticiero Telemundo” national newscast at 6:30 PM/5:30 C in collaboration with María Celeste Arrarás. Díaz-Balart’s visit to Los Angeles comes just weeks before the California primaries in an election season in which the Hispanic community has played a critical role.

 “José Díaz-Balart is one of the country’s most versatile and influential journalists,” remarked Luis Fernández, Telemundo’s Executive Vice President of Network News.  “His credibility transcends the division between local and national, and his presence in Los Angeles will help consolidate our positioning in one of the country’s most important markets.”

“We are thrilled to have Jose co-host our award-winning 6 PM newscast. This collaborative effort between newsrooms is a testament to our dedication and commitment to delivering top journalism and serving our community and Spanish-language viewers,” said Celia Chavez, President and General Manager, Telemundo 52.

In addition to anchoring the news for Telemundo 52 Los Angeles and “Noticiero Telemundo,” Díaz-Balart will participate in a number of community events around the city. He will take part in a voter registration drive hosted by Telemundo 52 and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, on Monday, May 9 at Esteban Torres High School in East Los Angeles, and will join Noticiero Telemundo 52’s morning news anchors Enrique Chiabra and Dunia Elvir, Secretary of State Padilla and several hundred high school students as part of Telemundo’s get-out-the-vote campaign #YODECIDO.

In 2014, Telemundo 52 benefitted from a significant investment made by NBCUniversal to its local Telemundo-owned stations to better serve the flourishing Spanish-speaking communities all across the country. Thanks to the investment, Telemundo 52 expanded its local news operations and launched two weekday newscasts at 5 AM and 5:30 PM; moved to a new state-of-the art facility (the Brokaw News Center); debuted a new news set; added a local news bureau in Riverside; hired newsroom staff to support the boost in local news; rolled out new on-screen graphics and visual designs and revamped digital platforms; and launched a consumer investigative unit — new Telemundo Responde (Telemundo Responds) — that is charged with standing up for consumers who may have been wronged. NBCUniversal is already yielding positive results and most recently, during April 2016, Telemundo 52 had the most-watched local newscast at 11 PM, in any language, among Adults 18 to 34. KVEA’s 11 PM newscast was also the second most-watched late local newscast in the market, regardless of language, among Adults 18 to 49 and Adults 25 to 54.

As anchor of “Noticiero Telemundo,” “Enfoque con José Díaz-Balart,” MSNBC Live with José Díaz-Balart” and “NBC News Weekend News,” José Díaz-Balart is one of the most respected voices in Hispanic journalism in the United States. Since beginning his career in 1984, Díaz-Balart has witnessed and reported on historic events for top media outlets, including CBS News, NBC News and Telemundo. He has received numerous recognitions for his work, among them a George Foster Peabody Award, an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Award, and the Broadcasting & Cable/Multichannel News 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television