EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
LYNDA BAQUERO
“YOU ARE YOUR ONLY OBSTACLE”
Beauty, versatility, dedication and talent are only a fraction of the characteristics that have earned Lynda Baquero her position as reporter and anchor for NBC 4 New York. This journalist of Puerto Rican descent and winner of an Emmy Award as correspondent told us her incredible and inspiring story.
IMPACTO LATIN NEWS
Displaying “Lynda” on the small screen is not enough to succeed in television. Beauty, versatility, dedication and talent are only a fraction of the characteristics that have earned Lynda Baquero her spot. That does not take into account her considerable academic preparation, in addition to having studied at New York University (NYU); she is fluent in English, Spanish, and French.
It is worth mentioning that Lynda won an Emmy Award as correspondent (1998) for her report about Pope John Paul II’s historic visit to Cuba. This noteworthy journalist was born in New York and is of Puerto Rican ancestry. She currently works as a consumer protection reporter for the channel NBC 4 New York, belonging to the NBC Network, where she has pursued a huge variety of journalistic posts since 1995.
Along with her responsibilities as anchor for NBC 4 New York , Lynda has done a number of reports for the NBC Network, as many in the United States as abroad. For example, her trips to Salt Lake City and to Atlanta to report about the ’96 Atlanta Olympics and her journey to the Middle East to cover Pope John Paul II’s visit to the “Holy Land”.
It’s important to note that before her time at NBC, Lynda worked on television at NY1 where she was an anchor and reporter for three years. Before that position, Lynda worked on channel WCBS-TV for 5 years, where she associate producer for the consumer protection segment “Troubleshooter”.
Talk to us about your work on the NBC Channel.
“I have had many roles on the channel and currently I am a consumer protection reporter. People call us or they send us e-mails, which we monitor. For example, someone paid a business for a particular service and they did not receive anything, and they are not getting anywhere with that company. And so we act as mediators. We have a high percentage of successful cases and we have helped people get thousands of dollars back.
For those who have not seen your segment, can you describe it?
“It airs at 5:45 PM. We focus on one case in particular. We begin with what they paid or signed. And then we talk about what happened after that, if they did not receive the service or they did but it was unsatisfactory. After we present a solution, what we did to resolve the problem. We always hope to leave a lesson, for example pay with a credit card instead of cash”.
Can you talk to us about the “I-Team” and about the work your colleagues are doing?
“We started the ‘I Team’ two years ago. There was a need for something like this in our market. We really have an impact not only on policy changes, but as well as consumer stories. For example, many parents were worried about the strap on a baby stroller from one company, and thanks to our story, the business responded and began to make safer straps”.
What are the most common stereotypes of Latino consumers in the United States?
“One of the biggest stereotypes is that we are all from the same country. Obviously we all come from different countries each with their own traditions, but with one Latin culture that unites us. I don’t think that people understand that. Another thing, many people underestimate our economic impact, our great loyalty, because we are consumers that are very loyal to certain brands”.
Tell us about your daily routine. What is a typical day like?
“I start the day very early taking my two children to school. After that I go to the office. It’s a very busy day, because we start to record very early, I go back in the afternoon, I write my script, we edit and I go to the studio to present the news”.
How do you find your stories?
“Most of them we find thanks to the public. People look for us on the Internet or they call us, including Spanish speakers. 99% of our stories come from those e-mails or telephone calls”.
How has social media changed your job and journalism in general?
“Social Medias are changing my work and the work of all journalists. For example, I tweet information about my Friday segment called ‘Freebie Friday’, where we talk about give-aways and people love retweeting that information”.
Tell us about your schooling.
“I went to Catholic School in Manhattan and I also studied Journalism at NYU. It was doing public relations for NBC while still in high school. I was actually part of the television club. We were one of few high schools in the country with a television studio”.
“At 12 years old, because I started high school a bit early, I auditioned for the TV club and I became a reporter. During my first year I worked as an investigative reporter. It was a challenge and at that point I said to myself, ‘This is what I want to do!’. And that is how I started in this business”.
Why was college so important to your personal development?
“Because college was where I really studied journalism. I chose NYU because it has a strong journalism program. At that time, I had the opportunity to experiment with what the journalism business is. I did that through my high school newspaper, but in college I had my own public access TV show that I started when I was 14”.
“When I was in college I also worked for Telemundo, channel 47, where I had the opportunity to get more in touch with my Latina roots. I did everything at Telemundo, from opening mail to answering the phone, to producing a New Year’s Eve special when I was 19 years old”.
Who have been your idols, models for you to follow?
“One of them is Barbara Walters, an incredible woman who has paved the way for many of us. I like her book ‘Audition’, where she relates how she was able to make the transition to a field that at the time was dominated by men. Walters was brave. You have to have the talent and the ability to get things done and she really did. That was what I took away from the book and from Barbara as a model for me to follow”.
As a Latina was it difficult to start working in journalism professionally?
“My father always told me that the only obstacles that stand in front of you are the ones that you put there. I always felt that if I challenged myself and if I worked hard, the opportunities would come on their own and I would end up with a job or an internship. In the end we are all New Yorkers, that is what unites us”.
What has been the best professional advice that you have received?
“Someone once told me about connecting with the audience. We always have a large audience, but I think you can make that connection with a person through the camera. That is what I try to do. When I look at the camera I don’t see thousands of people, but I try to make an individual connection. If I can tell that story to one person and I can help them connect to the topic, I feel like I have done my job”.
What achievement are you most proud of?
“During the coverage of Hurricane George, the phone lines were down. We had viewers in New York and one of them called the station and said ‘I know that you have reporters there. I am trying to get in contact with my son who is in the Dominican Republic and I don’t know where he is or if he is ok’. So we traveled to that town in the Dominican Republic by helicopter and we were able to find the boy”.
“We asked him what message he had for his mother. It makes me tear up just remembering it. It’s incredible when you can do something like that in television”.
How have you worked with the Latino community?
“I have worked with the Latino community in many ways. Especially through a program that I do every Saturday at 6:45 in the morning called ‘Visiones’. It has been on air for 15 years and I am the host. My mission in these segments is to talk about the positive things in our community. We have so many stories. For example, the effort for free bilingual education, how to find tools to help your child be bilingual”.
How are opportunities changing for Latinos? Are there more open doors?
“I think there are more doors open for Latinos and for other minorities. I think that globalization has reduced a lot of the differences. There might be more opportunities, but we have to demonstrate that we can do it and be sure to have the education, the talent and the ability that the work requires”.
What advice do you have for Latinos who are trying to develop their professional career in journalism?
“The most valuable advice is to have a broad based education. I think it is important to know about politics, history and world events, because you will use all that information in your work”.
“Also it’s very important to have the ability to write. They rest can be learnt on the job. I’m talking about television specifically. How to work the camera or editing can be learnt on the job”.
What is your contact information for the Latino public?
“I want to try and help as many people possible. We are always looking for stories. People can send me e-mails at [email protected] or call our toll free number 1-866 NEWS244. If they would like to leave a message or an e-mail in Spanish, I will read it and I hope that I can help them.
Your program Visiones focuses on the Latino public. How can the Hispanic public get in contact with you for that program in particular?
“If someone is interested in a topic or story for Visiones, they can send me an e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected]. I am always looking for stories and we record segments every week”.
“I also participate in a lot of events. I try to go to as many community events as possible. I have been involved with different institutions like El Museo del Barrio and a charity organization called ‘Let’s Get Ready’. I try to help the community is any way possible”.