Teresa Rodriguez (R) sang her Hasta La Vista swan song on Univision’s award-winning news program, "Aqui y Ahora", which translates to Here and Now.
This is the program she helped launch more than 20 years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting Teresa Abate, who is now known as Rodriguez in the ’80s as the youngest news executive for the rebranded Spanish International Network, now Univision, where she served as SIN Anchorwoman.
Teresa, and Maria Elena Salinas, (L) also gone from the Univision anchor desk, were fixtures for decades on Univision. Together they laid the groundwork for Latinas to succeed as professional newscasters in the USA. Their contribution to Spanish language television is priceless.
Another long-time friend, María Elena Salinas wrote: “I have mixed feelings as I watch Aqui y Ahora tonight. This is the end of an era. I co-anchored the show with Teresa for 18 years and know first hand her passion, dedication, and professionalism. She is and always will be a true friend I can count on.”
These two journalists, along with the help of Maria Antonieta Collins, who is the last senior anchorwoman standing proved the male naysayers wrong, especially those who doubted a Spanish language network anchorwoman should, could, or would succeed. As we all look forward to new beginnings for all of them, we wait to see how carefully the former SIN Network removes their last senior anchorwoman still standing.
On a personal note, I am a feminist, father of two delightfully talented daughters, one of them Sabrina Soto is a TV personality. I left NBC News during ta strike to join SIN/Univision as the youngest TV executive., At NBC I helped launch Hear and Now, with the late and great Roger Mudd, who aged gracefully over six decades because male figures have longer life spans as anchormen.
One exception was Ann Bishop. I am old enough to recall when senior English-language news anchorwomen were revered for their experience, and audience attraction. She was not only my mentor, Ann Bishop (December 26, 1930 – November 14, 1997) was a broadcast journalism icon, who made her name in Rochester, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Miami. Florida. Ann was born Harriette Himes began her career writing for the CBS affiliate in upstate New York. She went on to work as a reporter for stations in Rochester and Baltimore and finally at WPLG-TV 10, where she beat the long-running South Florida rating powerhouse WTVJ with Ralph Renick, who served for 36 years. Ann held on to the lead for a decade. Bishop continued to anchor the news alongside Dwight Lauderdale until 1995. Following her retirement, Ann kept working as a consultant for the Post-Newsweek television stations, the parent company of WPLG, until her death on November 14, 1997, from colon cancer.