Mirthala Salinas , is not only the news anchor of Estrella TV , but the interim vice president of the news department, In a few but powerful words, she is the woman who changed the image of the news and the news department of the chain that knew the success of the hand of its communities.
We exclusively spoke with the executive who, with courage, talks about her position in a man’s world , how she eradicated the dye yellow of the news and respect for women even in their clothes , in a chain that, in that same department, was accused of sexual abuse precisely against that genre .
– What does Estrella TV mean in your career?
Mirthala Salinas : A great opportunity to be able to do different things, I think Estrella TV, for being a small television station and with such limited resources, we are not a giant You Univision, we are not a giant Telemundo, the challenge is much greater, and with the challenges come opportunities to innovate, so it means for me: opportunity, innovation, challenges, and with all that, the hope that successes will come.
– How was the Estrella Tv that you entered, the one now?
Mirthala Salinas: I worked here at the 2011, I started as a reporter, and then I was an anchor. Then I left, and I came back with this opportunity to be the interim vice president of the news department, and to be in charge, too, of one of the national newscasts … I worked in other television networks, in Telemundo in Los Angeles, so I can speak from the perspective of Estrella TV at that time, and it was not the best for many reasons, because it was felt that there was no seriousness in the news department, that there was no professionalism … At that time, Estrella TV was a small station, run by a family, the resources were limited, but I think the objectives were also different, it was not focused on making a genuine connection with the Latino community of Los Angeles , since the largest is the Mexican, followed by the Central American and the Salvadorans, the Hondurans, the Guatemalans … They are very important communities.
– How was the return?
Mirthala Salinas: What When I came to work at Estrella TV, we were under another news leadership, obviously the management was the same, and I do think there was a little more seriousness about the product that we were going to air, but I left and came back precisely with a vision similar to the one I have always had in my professional position, and that is that journalism was made to make a link between what are the great decisions that are made in the world with the community , the goals are those, to connect more, to be able to do things that we are really a genuine link with that community that needs so much information. I always say: it is not the same to cover a news for the general market, than for the Hispanic market, why? Because many of the people who come to this country do not know the system of this country, they do not know how to move, how to handle themselves, and part of our job is that, to help people, to give them the tools.
– You are in an executive position as a woman, when before it has been the turn of other women, in this same news department, to endure being harassed and even rubbing shoulders with yellowness In his reporting mode, how did you make that stop happening?
Mirthala Salinas : Thank you very much for acknowledging the change, because it was very yellow before and everything you just said is true , how do I receive it? I believe that it is a new stage in Estrella TV, I believe that empowering women is part of the new , I feel very fortunate to be in this situation and I feel very fortunate to have the trust of this group of senior executives, all men, and who have placed that trust in me. The world is not perfect, and mistakes are going to be made, and I am going to make mistakes, but I think it is part of the idiosyncrasy of being human. I am not the type of person that because I am a woman I look different, no! … I think that both women and men look for opportunities and work hard and be passionate about what What do you do, with your profession and the commitment you have to your profession, is what takes us to different places or better places, I think it’s the best word, I’m in a man’s world, I’m not going to Denying is difficult, but not impossible .
– How do you do so that you are respected, regardless of your gender, and how do you do so that your women’s team is respected, regardless of gender?
Mirthala Salinas: I say what I think and I do what I feel is right for the news department… My treatment of my staff, both men and women, is the same, I don’t make a difference , and I think that It’s put on the same level, and women feel respected and men feel respected too. I can understand that sometimes for a man it can be a little difficult to have a woman as a supervisor , but I think that both my respect for them has earned me their respect towards me.
– Before we saw, at the image level, more body than perhaps news …
Mirthala Salinas: Yes, definitely, when I entered here I said that we had to change the image of the people we have on the air in the department of news. I do not manage the entertainment department, but for me it is important to have a sober image in the news people, how they see you they treat you, so for me it was important to send that message that we are professionals and that if we want to play in the big leagues, we have to behave at the level of the big leagues, and part of behavior is body language, it is how we dress, and how we see ourselves. If you show up on a news set with a tailored suit or an elegant blouse, where you don’t necessarily have to show anything, I think people take you more seriously , and respects you more, and apart from adding a lot to your credibility.
– How did the public take it?
Mirthala Salinas: When I started and started making changes in the ways we dress, and in the ways we behave, I received a lot of positive comments , I do not feel that the public has resented the change, because Estrella TV has other programming where there is space for that, it was not abandoned, on the contrary, the news department was given the image it should have, in my opinion , which is a serious picture.
– When you you stop, and you think about everything you’ve accomplished in the news department, what do you feel?
Mirthala Salinas: I am very proud of myself, of the team. I have a 12 year old girl and an 8 year old boy , so I feel that I am giving a very nice example to my children that when you want, and when you dream, things can be achieved , and I also believe that I instill in my children, and more than anything to my daughter, the importance of being an independent woman, a brave woman, to some extent, indomitable. I always tell my daughter: “You are going to do whatever you want to do, nothing will be impossible unless you feel that it is impossible” … I feel very lucky to be in the position where I am, I think I am one of the few women who are in this position in the country, at least in Spanish.
– What message do you want to give to the public that accompanies you every day, that believe in what you say and what your team says?
Mirthala Salinas: I have nothing but gratitude, and I thank you for choosing us, I know that there are many options, I know that the market is too divided, and it is not just television anymore, right now our main enemy is the phone, because it is already a computer and we always have it with us and the news is on as soon as you move the screen you get a notification of a news item . It is a world of many challenges for us as journalists. I would like to make a call to the local consulates of Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Houston, which is where we have face-to-face stations, we have a very good communication and relationship with the Consulate of Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, And I want the consulates to know that in Estrella TV, in Mirthala Salinas they have an ally, to be with them together to be able to publicize, spread the message that they have for the community, I thank them, and all the organizations that work with us, and I invite you to continue doing it, because together it is how we can serve the community, which in the end is the journalist’s job ..