The Hispanic Heritage Foundation honored NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde with the Media Award at its 36th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in a ceremony at Washington D.C.’s John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
In his prepared remarks, Conde noted: “…it is so essential for news organizations such as ours to do all that we can to build trust with our audiences. The path to building that trust is not only accuracy and fairness. It is also making sure that we as a team and in our content reflect the rich and beautiful diversity of the communities that we serve. We re-dedicate ourselves to doing what we can, because we know trust is so essential to our success, not only for our organization, but more broadly for our democracy. That is my hope, and that is our aspiration.”
Conde was introduced by actor and MSNBC host John Leguizamo, who said in his prepared remarks, “What’s at the core of Cesar’s success is that he understands how technology is changing media, he has a commitment to excellence, and he knows the importance of reflecting the rich diversity of our country.”
As chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, Conde oversees NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, the NBC News Now streaming service and more recently Telemundo Enterprises and NBCUniversal Local stations. He joined NBCU in 2013 as the evp of NBCU International Group. In that role, he was responsible for the operations and international expansion of NBCU’s business outside of North America. Conde held the NBCU International chief role while also serving as chairman of NBCU Telemundo Enterprises.
Conde transitioned from NBCU International and Telemundo to the role of NBCUniversal News Group chairman in 2020, taking over from Andy Lack during the height of the Covid pandemic. Conde became the first Hispanic to lead a major English-language television news organization.
The Hispanic Heritage Awards were created by the White House to commemorate the establishment of Hispanic Heritage Month in America. Past Hispanic Heritage Award honorees include: Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor, the late congressman John Lewis, actresses Salma Hayek, Selena Gomez and Jessica Alba, musician Carlos Santana and others.
The awards ceremony, which was hosted by actress and singer Leslie Grace, will air on Friday, September 29 at 9 p.m. on PBS.