Telemundo Expands Program To Train Journalists

In an effort to help shape the next generation of bilingual broadcast and digital journalists and provide them work skills they need to succeed in broadcast newsrooms, the Telemundo Station Group has launched the Telemundo University training program for journalism students at the University of Florida and University of Texas at Arlington.The group plans to announce additional partners next year.

Telemundo Station Group is part of NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations, a division of NBCUniversal that includes 40 NBC/Telemundo TV stations in 28 markets.

Featuring four core study tracks —On-Air Presentation, Digital Media, Technical Operations, and Writing/Producing — students participating in Telemundo University receive one-on-one practical training from NBC and Telemundo station journalists including news directors, executive producers, anchors and investigative reporters. Trainings take place on-campus throughout the year.

Students that successfully complete Telemundo University can apply and be considered for full-time positions at any NBCUniversal-owned television station or NBC and Telemundo news networks. Students are also mentored/guided by newsroom leaders throughout the training and post-graduation, as each student navigates job searches and interviews.

This is the first time the Telemundo Station Group and public research universities are partnering to provide college students a practical education program that delivers the skills they need to succeed in today’s fast-changing media landscape.

“Bilingual reporting has become increasingly important for reaching local audiences. We’re pleased to have pioneered a training program with our partners at UF and UTA that leverages the unique power and reach our NBC/Telemundo stations have, to help shape future journalists in our newsrooms,” said Ozzie Martinez, SVP of news, digital and standards for the Telemundo Station Group. “We look forward to working with more universities that are interested in giving aspiring journalists the experiences they need to jump-start their careers and serve our communities.”

“We are thrilled to have piloted the Telemundo Station Group’s training program at our College of Journalism and Communications. The UF-Telemundo Stations partnership is an exemplar of collaboration between academy and industry,” said Mira Lowe, director of the college’s Innovation News Center. “New opportunities like this give our students a competitive edge in the marketplace while building pipelines to newsrooms.”

Launched in fall 2017 as a pilot program between the Telemundo Station Group and the University of Florida’s journalism school, the inaugural Telemundo University class graduated six students in May 2018, three of which are currently employed at Telemundo stations in San Antonio, South Florida and Washington as multimedia journalist, web editor, and digital news associate, respectively.

This fall, Telemundo University welcomed eight new students from the University of Florida. More students are expected to enlist in the program when Telemundo University expands to the University of Texas-Arlington in early 2019.

This new program is part of a series of development programs created by the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division for its journalists, newsroom, sales and marketing professionals.