Spanish television pioneer and former President of Univision Emilio Nicolas Sr. spoke to ASU students on Monday about how he got his start in broadcast.
The lecture began with a short video, which delved into the history of Nicolas and the network. Nicolas played key roles in the World Cup’s first U.S. broadcast, the hiring of the first woman to host a national prime-time newscast and, ultimately, Univision’s journey to becoming the largest Spanish-speaking network today.
He told the audience that he had not imagined the network growing to be so large. According to Nicolas, a great broadcaster must understand finance as well. He explained why he turned down some advertising opportunities — largely because he learned to respect his audience.
“I turned down a lot of businesses because of what they would advertise,” Nicolas said. “They would exploit my audience, and I was there to serve them and to help them.”
Christopher Callahan, dean of the Cronkite School, introduced Nicolas to the audience. He announced to students that Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton declared Nov. 2 Emilio Nicolas Sr. Day in the city of Phoenix.
“Emilio Nicolas was a true pioneer of Spanish language television and a role model in many ways, both for our fantastic aspiring journalists .. and for all the many future business leaders,” Callahan said.
Stanton has expressed to Phoenicians that Nicolas played an important role in connecting citizens with their communities and pioneering Spanish-language TV.
Lillian Griego, a senior journalism student at the Cronkite School, was impressed by Nicolas’ shift in career paths.
Nicolas — who earned his master’s in biology, chemistry and mathematics — was a part of a research team that worked on the polio vaccine before he pivoted his career towards journalism.
“I think it’s interesting how he, without even knowing English, came out and got his master’s and studied something so different,” said Griego. “I love how he didn’t even imagine how big he would be, or how Univision would be so big.”
Contact the reporter at Conall.Casey-Waid@asu.edu.
