Ilia Calderón has been named co-anchor of Noticiero Univision, the network’s national evening newscast. Calderon, who has been with Univision since 2007, currently co-anchors the network’s late night newscast Edicion Nocturna.
The Colombian-born Calderón joins Jorge Ramos on the program and takes over for María Elena Salinas who announced in August that she would be leaving the broadcast. Calderón becomes the first Afro-Latina journalist to anchor a weekday evening newscast.
“It is a great honor and an enormous responsibility for me to sit in María Elena Salinas’s anchor chair,” said Calderón. “María Elena has been an invaluable voice for the Hispanic community in this country, an icon of excellence in journalism and a role model for millions of Latinas, so I know I have big shoes to fill.”
“Ilia’s professionalism and experience, together with her personal charisma, journalistic integrity, knowledge of the U.S. Hispanic community and proven appeal with our diverse audience make her the ideal person to succeed María Elena Salinas,” said Daniel Coronell, president of Univision News. “We are confident that Ilia’s contributions will be instrumental in maintaining the standard of excellence that María Elena and Jorge have set for the newscast over more than three decades.”
Calderón also made history in her native Colombia where she was the first black woman to ever host a national news program in that country. Calderón got her start in journalism in 1994 as the anchor of a local newscast in Medellín. After relocating to Miami in 2001, she was a news anchor for Telemundo Internacional.
“To the millions of loyal viewers of Noticiero Univision, I promise to give you my very best every evening,” said Calderón. She begins in her new role next month.