Maria Hinojosa

General

Bio

Hinojosa began her radio career at WKCR-FM at Barnard College at Columbia University in New York City. She was the first Latina to be hired at National Public Radio in Washington, and later—based in New York—she became the first Latina correspondent for the network. Hinojosa has received the Ruben Salazar Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Council of La Raza and the prestigious Leadership Award from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She has been documenting the story of Latinos in America for her entire career. As a young Mexican immigrant growing up on the south side of Chicago, Hinojosa realized that the story of her family and her community was invisible in the mainstream media. “I knew that there were thousands of others like me out there, but our issues, our reality, our American stories were not being told. Something inside of me knew that I had a role to play in bringing forth the voice of Latinos. Though I had no role models and wondered if I could ever find a place in the mainstream media, the urgency in speaking to the voiceless propelled me in my career.” Because of her work with Latino USA, Hinojosa is now recognized as one of the most influential Latino/a journalists in the country. Her voice of integrity, honesty, and humility has become an inspiration for young journalists—Latino and non-Latino alike.

Website

http://latinousa.kut.org/maria-hinojosa/