PRESS RELEASE from NBCUniversal
NBC
NEWS
AND TELEMUNDO MEDIA JOIN FORCES TO DELIVER UNPRECEDENTED POLITICAL
COVERAGE WITH “DECISION 2012”
NEW YORK - June 14, 2012 - On the heels of the first national NBC
News/WSJ/Telemundo poll, NBC News and Telemundo Media announced both
networks will officially join forces to deliver an unprecedented number
of hours of political coverage in English and Spanish under their
signature political banner "Decision 2012." Through this partnership,
NBC News will give Telemundo Media access to the assets and strengths
of the #1 news organization in the country, while Telemundo Media will
contribute its expertise and reach within the Hispanic community. By
combining news gathering assets and award-winning journalists, NBC News
and Telemundo Media will offer unparalleled political news programming
and convention coverage, as well as exclusive town halls and monthly
polls. In addition, Alexandra Wallace, Senior Vice President at NBC
News has expanded her role to add a strategic position within
Telemundo. She will work closely with Alina Falcon, Executive Vice
President of News and Alternative Programming at Telemundo Media, on
executing “Decision 2012,” and moving forward.
Telemundo
will share resources with NBC News to produce news programming of the
upcoming political race to the White House. In addition to featuring
reports from Telemundo, NBC News and MSNBC’s reporters, efforts will
include joint monthly polls, coverage of the candidates’ campaigns,
conventions, and high visibility events around civic engagement and the
role of the Hispanic vote. According to the National Association of
Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, approximately 9.7 million
Latinos voted in the 2008 Presidential election and approximately 12.2
million Latinos are expected to vote in the 2012 Presidential election.
With nearly 22 million eligible voters, the Hispanic vote will have a
significant impact on the upcoming elections.
“Telemundo is the
only Spanish-language media company in the U.S. that has the advantage
of having access to the leading news organization in the country, all
under one roof,” said Emilio Romano, President of Telemundo Media.
“This partnership will allow Telemundo and NBC News to offer news in
both languages, reaffirming our deep commitment to inform and empower
our community with the news and information they need to enrich their
daily lives and forge a better future.”
Wallace, who has been
overseeing the integration of NBC News and Telemundo News for the past
year, was named senior vice president of NBC News in December 2008.
“Alex has a true passion for Telemundo News and is a visionary as it
relates to the future of broadcast journalism,” said Steve Capus,
President of NBC News. “In this new assignment, she is perfectly
situated to help NBC News and Telemundo News take their relationship to
the next level.”
Leveraging each network’s content, journalists
and assets, NBC News and Telemundo’s partnership extends outside of its
respective headquarters, with daily editorial and production
coordination between the many shared domestic and international
bureaus, including NBC News’ Havana bureau. Telemundo’ s Mexico bureau
also has been instrumental in gathering and distributing news content
from that market and Latin America to all the NBC News properties. This
partnership between Telemundo’s and NBC News’ bureaus was instrumental
in providing around-the-clock in-depth coverage of the Pope’s visit to
Mexico City and Cuba last March. Both networks shared on-the-ground
resources in Havana and Telemundo's Jose Diaz-Balart reported directly
for Nightly News from Guanajuato, Mexico.
Since the 2010 launch
of its “Education Nation” initiative, NBC News and Telemundo have
worked together to bring important issues in education to the
spotlight, including partnering on the national Summits and local city
tours. Telemundo presents its “Education Nation” coverage under the
banner of its own education initiative, “El Poder De Saber”— a
company-wide effort that focuses on promoting the educational
advancement of young Latinos, with an emphasis on secondary education
and preventing high school drop-outs among Hispanic youth. This year’s
Summit takes place in New York City, September 23-25th.