Former EP TV reporters doing well in larger markets

I attended the National Association of Hispanic Journalists annual convention in San Juan, Puerto Rico, last week and -- as always -- I ran into many, many old friends. The convention is normally packed with journalists from throughout the country and dozens of people who have at one point worked here in El Paso. This year, though, the convention was a little bit smaller due to the economic hardships that the country and the news media industry are experiencing.

Still, I ran into several people. Here's an update of what are they doing:

*Noma Garcia and I went to UTEP together and early on she began anchoring the news at KINT-TV Channel 26. After graduating from UTEP, Norma left El Paso to try her luck in Chicago and then California. She now works for Telemundo in Dallas. She says she loves her job and was happy to hear about the Socorro Bulldogs winning the state baseball championship (she's an alumna).

*Rebecca Medina, a Miami native, spent several years at KDBC-TV Channel 4 as a reporter. She left for a job in Tennessee but is now working for the ABC affiliate in Tampa, Fla. Rebecca told me she misses El Paso and would consider coming back to anchor or do special projects in the future. She also told me that she was saddened at the hardships her old station is experiencing and sent her love and support to her friends at Channel 4.

*I also met into Sergio Urquidi, the former weekend anchor of the national Univision newscast. I didn't know this, but Urquidi is a Juarez native who graduated from UTEP in the early 1990s. We talked about how tragic the violence in Juarez has become (he was just across the border in the spring to visit his parents, he said) and how much UTEP has changed since he was there.

*People may remember Mekahlo Medina as a reporter and weekend anchor at KTSM-TV channel 9 in the late 1990s. Since then, Mekahlo has landed himself a sweet gig as anchor of an online newscast for the NBC station in Los Angeles called "News Raw." Mekahlo is an awesome journalist and for the last decade or so he has volunteered his time to help future reporters in the NAHJ student projects during the convention.

*Speaking of student projects, El Noticiero is the student version of a newscast during the convention. It's a student-produced show that gives convention-goers news from throughout the region and features on our host city. There are dozens of talented students from throughout the country that participate and UTEP has always been featured prominently. This year, UTEP was at the forefront. Adriana Gomez Licon, who graduated from UTEP last month and was an El Paso Times intern, was picked as one of the anchors. She did great, by the way, especially since her degree is not in broadcasting but rather print media.

In case you are interested, here's a link to the full El Noticiero, in which Adriana serves as anchor. Well done, Adriana! And Go Miners!

Comments

[Jon]

But where's Amber Sullins?

[Kevin]

Yeah! How come nobody has followed up on her? I was hoping that maybe I could still get her on satellite depending on where she ended up.

[Erica]

You forgot about Suzy Flores, formally on KSII 93.1 with Mike and Suzy in the morning then went on to being a TV News Reporter for the morning KTSM Channel 9 news. She then moved to Dallas and landed herself an even better reporting job! Way to go Suzy! We miss you!

[Walter]

Was she at NAHJ though? He was only talking about people he ran into at NAHJ.

[RBSProds]

If you expand your topic to include ANY reporters who have worked in El Paso, you missed the two most successful:
*Michelle Gielan, who previously anchored the morning show at KTSM (with two large curls framing her face) is now the anchor (without the curls) for the CBS early morning "Up To The Minute" news cast replacing Meg Oliver, a spot formerly led by reporters like Mika Brzezinski of "Morning Joe" on MSNBC.
*Christina Brown, who also formerly anchored mornings at KTSM, is now the co-anchor of NBC's ''Early today'' and MSNBC's ''First Look''(rotating days). Outside of Gary Warner, who briefly anchored CNN's overnight news before returning to El Paso's KVIA Ch 6, these are the highest national-level anchors who formerly worked in El Paso. Are there any others?