Former Univision Anchor Maria Elena Salinas Joins CBS News

Anita Bennett 58 Comments
Maria Elena Salinas (Credit: CBS)

Maria Elena Salinas, one of the longest-serving female newscasters in Spanish-language media, is joining CBS News.

Salinas will serve as a contributor across CBS’ broadcasts and platforms and will frequently report on the 2020 election, CBS News President and Senior Executive Producer Susan Zirinsky announced Monday in a press release.

“It is an honor to welcome Maria Elena Salinas to the CBS News team,” said Zirinsky. “We look forward to sharing her important voice and journalistic credentials with our audience in a critical time for this country.”

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A Los Angeles native, Salinas spent 35 years with Univision and was one of its best-known anchors. Before leaving the network in 2017, she served as co-host of “Noticiero Univision” and the newsmagazine “Aquí y Ahora.” She has interviewed world leaders, including every U.S. president since Jimmy Carter.

Her hiring comes less than two months after the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) called for a boycott of CBS This Morning and the CBS Evening News over what the Hollywood advocacy group described as “Latino exclusion” from the network’s flagship news programs.

In a statement issued on May 29, the NHMC said Latino anchors and correspondents were absent following the latest revamp of the CBS News broadcasts.

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The revamp included Norah O’Donnell and John Dickerson departing CBS This Morning, and Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil joining Gayle King on the broadcast. O’Donnell moved to the CBS Evening News as anchor and managing editor, replacing Jeff Glor. Dickerson joined 60 Minutes. Meanwhile, Glor moved to CBS This Morning: Saturday, to co-host with Dana Jacobson and Michelle Miller.

The NHMC asked why no Latino anchors or reporters were included in the changes.

“Latinos make up 18.9% of the U.S. population and are the largest and fastest growing minority in the nation,” NHMC President and CEO Alex Nogales said at the time. “Yet, here we are again — absent on screen, but this time not on an entertainment program or in a film, but on a major news network.”

Nogales urged CBS to “fully” embrace diversity.

About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411. She can be reached on Twitter @tvanita.

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58 thoughts on “Former Univision Anchor Maria Elena Salinas Joins CBS News”

    1. If she had ANY decency “Former Univision Anchor Maria Elena Salinas” would refuse the job ON PRINCIPLE. Now, she will be only known as a token hire to mollify the self-pitying Hispanic crowd.

      3. She a pathetic loser who can’t get job on her own merits. Has to get her treasonous, racist brethren to threaten cbs to get her a job.

    2. JUST ONE MORE REASON TO NOT WATCH OR LISTEN TO ANY CBS ANYTHING. CBS NOW MEANS “COCK AND BULL STORY”

      1. It doesn’t work like that as you already know. Like Leftist/liberal m/o’s that doesn’t qualify and never will. We’re talking one way street

  2. “It is an honor to welcome Maria Elena Salinas to the CBS News team”. One would think that the victim of extortion would not be so gleeful to advertsie the pay off…. but that is CBS I suppose

  3. I don’t like Hispanics anymore…they hate borders. They screw up their country of birth then flee here, illegally, to screw up this country…all at taxpayers expense. Get in line, do the paperwork or you’re just another greasy-chinned Hispanic chicken thief.

    1. I agree with what you said . Right on the money .However You blew it by adding

      “or you’re just another greasy-chinned Hispanic chicken thief.”

      That Is where we disagree.

      1. Mine too. The problem is that the corrupt, lying, American media only quotes and showcases the treasonous blivets who give their loyalty, not to America but to mexico, puerto rico, cuba, etc.

  4. So much about hiring based on merit.
    CBS= UNIVISION2 I expect an exponential increase in the poor immigrant stories.

  7. And to think I used to even complain about Walter…come back, all is forgiven

  9. Well thats the way they operate now days, don’t want to work for or earn anything, just want it given to them or they will cause trouble, this move by CBS explains why it is the least watched of all the TV networks.

    1. i do not watch cbs..i watchewtn catholic channel
      i do not care for all the anti tr…she has to be they are
      very bias in los angeles….she is cute//

  10. Nothing like being Blackmailed.. PC correct is ruining this country, yet Liberals love it. The Modern day Liberal is the fascist of today by their actions.

  12. Yet they are willing to voluntary remivethe stations from Statelite TV in order to pressure nogations. That is a self imposed black out. What hyporcites

  14. CBS, it doesn’t change anything except the language and accents when speaking english. Left wing = Left wing, regardless.

  16. Well, “extortion” is part the 3rd world trait!.. It’s right up there with murder, abductions, rape and child molestation..

    Lile “law & order”, they don’t under “merit” based employment back in their lawless, incompetent, corrupt 3rd world sheet holes!.. Of course, democrat controlled slimeball CBS is all to welling to give in to the demands of “12” loons!.. I bet they were setting around saying “we just need one excuse to inject out anti-American views”..

  17. I’ve got 5 Spanish-language channels on my Comcast lineup that I did not ask for. They don’t provide an English SAP though they get one into Spanish on the other channels. How “diverse” are the Spanish language channels? The only time you ever see any blacks is if there is a soccer game.

    1. Yeah, I hear the propaganda is far worse on those spanish channels. It would be nice to hear how they plan to undermind America

  18. No more CBS for me.
    And Norah O’Donnell hasn’t got a chance on the Evening News.
    Might as well put Rosie O’Donnell on there.

      1. Katie Couric seemed somewhat better to me, but not much!
        Norah O’Donnel is just a snooze-fest on there.
        One of the fill-in anchors who is a Washington White House
        Correspondent Major Garret was on there a few weeks back.
        He was really good.

  19. This hiring is typical of what now passes for “journalism” in the U.S. Threaten a news agency and they’ll hire whoever you want and report on issues the way you want them reported on – real “journalism” on display here.

  20. Wow, 19%… When this country turns into Mexico we’re screwed. While you’re at it, name a single prosperous hispanic county. You can’t..there are none.

    1. Just Spain, which although it has a high unemployment rate is still in Europe and with a European living standard.

  22. So if Republicans were to threaten a boycott of Democrat ran fake news media if they didnt hire Ann Coulter, would we too get our way?!(lol), Yea, I didn’t think so either!

  23. CBS scared of being called out and boycotted. PC is going to be the Death of us.

  25. She is as good or better than most of the “pretty faces” the networks hired to read news on TV. She can also do it in two languages without accents.

  27. Well, I’m so glad we can now check off the Hispanic box. But what about a gay? Anyone on CBS who is gay? Do they have a transsexual? Please, CBS, show us a list of people on your news programs and what box each checks off. I can’t watch CBS till I’m satisfied you’re not discriminating.

  29. Umm, she looks very white to me. Maybe this is why they were previously excluding Latinos?

    1. Since I’ve lived in Mexico City, I can tell you that the nice wealthy neighborhoods, such as Roma, Polanco and La Condesa, are filled with European ancestry. They definitely don’t resemble the darker brown illegals in the caravans.

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