Latin America’s most influential journalist and advocate
How Jorge Ramo’s dedication to advocacy and truth should inspire all journalists
Jorge Ramos’s voice filled the halls of my childhood home for as long as I can remember. My family and I ran on different schedules, our days packed with school, work, and extracurricular activities, yet somehow, we always found ourselves seated in the living room early Sunday mornings watching Ramos’s Al Punto broadcast. Regardless of what was going on in our lives, Ramos’s authoritative voice, blunt interviews and compelling news stories kept us watching Sunday morning after Sunday morning. Ramos's advocacy for the Hispanic and immigrant communities, his courage as he flew around the world to report stories and uncover underrepresented perspectives and his strong pursuit of integrity in journalism have inspired me to follow similar values in my own career as an aspiring journalist and public relations professional.
Advocacy
Ramos started his career in broadcast journalism working for Televisa in Mexico, producing the Mexican version of 60 minutes. At first, Ramos had no plans of immigrating to America, but he later grew frustrated at the way the Mexican government censored new stories that criticized the government. In 1983, Ramos immigrated to America, where he has since dedicated his career to holding world leaders accountable and advocating for Hispanic Americans and the immigrant community.
“The best of journalism happens when we take a stand,” Ramos said during his acceptance speech for the 2014 CPJ Burton Benjamin Memorial Award. “When we question those who are in power, when we confront the politicians who abuse their authority, when we denounce an injustice.”
Ramos covers the historic fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.
Across his 40-year-old career in journalism, Ramos has interviewed five U.S. presidents and countless other America political leaders and candidates. Each time, Ramos has pressed them for their stance on immigration reform and challenged those who he felt made promises and never acted on them. Ramos has also warned against the rise of hate groups and advocated for holding those who use hateful language accountable through his documentary, Hate Rising.
Courage
Ramos’ courage is another one of his many inspiring qualities. From the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the wars in Afghanistan and Gaza, he has traveled the world to cover global events firsthand as their happening. Even when his network, Univision, wouldn’t send him, he went on his own to Afghanistan.
“I chose journalism because I wanted to be in the places where history was being made,” Ramos told The New York Times.
Even outside of active conflict zones, Ramos continues to practice courage. One example is when he confronted Latin American dictators Fidel Castro and Nicolás Maduro.
Ramos interviews President Obama, pressing him for his stance on immigration reform.
Integrity
Ramos has always fought for integrity and honesty in journalism. He has warned other journalists against getting too close to politicians and those in power. Instead, he encourages aspiring journalists and public relations professionals to seek the truth and push for transparency. Ramos believes a journalist’s greatest social responsibility is to “challenge authority” and “ask tough questions”, no matter who the person being interviewed is.
“Working in-house, PR pros need to be able to ask tough questions of their CEO, elected officials, or executive director,” Ramos said in his commencement speech at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “They need to counsel transparency and always push for the truth to be shared. Secrets are never secrets.”
Ramos’s work has made news more accessible to millions of Hispanic families in America, including my own. His commitment to advocacy and pursuing the truth in even the most challenging of situations has inspired my own approach to journalism and public relations. I aim to uphold his objectives and gifted storytelling in my own work.
