Time Magazine released its annual 100 most influential people Thursday and one of the faces on the list was Jorge Ramos, the most influential Hispanic anchor in the country.
The veteran newsman may be somewhat unknown to English language audiences, but his respected stature in the media world and in the Hispanic community helped him make Time’s cover. Time printed five covers; the other names were Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, musician Kanye West, dancer Misty Copeland, and actor Bradley Cooper.
Ramos, who was born in Mexico City, appears on Spanish-speaking news shows like Univision’s “Notciero Univision” and “Al Punto,” two of most widely watched Spanish language news shows. In addition, he hosts the English-language Fusion news show “America with Jorge Ramos.”
The anchor has turned heads in the past year for his intense interview with President Obama regarding Immigration reform along with showing the hardships of immigrants by swimming across the Rio Grande with his camera crew.
Ramos, 57, has been often called the “Walter Cronkite of Latino America,” according to the New York Times. Yet, making the cover of Time 100 is a breakout moment for the anchor and his young Fusion network.
Fusion, Disney and Univision’s cable network looking to serve Millennials across differing platforms, was launched two years ago and, like Ramos, is fairly undiscovered.
Regardless of its current impact, Ramos has spoken highly of Fusion telling CNN’s Brian Stelter in September that the media company was “a bridge to the future.”
“In 2016, no one is going to be able to make it to the White House without Fusion or Univision,” Ramos said speaking to the network’s reach to Latino audiences.
In the Time 100 piece on Ramos, the anchor received glowing words from fellow journalist CNN’s Christiane Amanpour . “He says he asks every question as if it’s his last, determined to get an answer or go down trying,” wrote Amanpour. “He knows he has a voice and is not afraid to use it.”
Ramos has won multiple awards for his work and is considered by many in the media landscape to be one of the most influential journalists heading into the 2016 election, and Fusion and Univision have worked hard to promote Ramos as a news anchor for the future. His inclusion in the Time 100 is a boost for Fusion’s standing.
“With another presidential election coming up, if anyone can move this needle, Jorge Ramos can—and he must,” Amanpour added.
