Gloria Rojas
Born(1939-04-01)April 1, 1939
The Bronx, New York
DiedFebruary 2, 2022(2022-02-02) (aged 82)
Cambridge, Maryland
Alma mater
OccupationJournalist

Gloria Rojas (April 1, 1939 – February 2, 2022) was an American journalist. She was one of the first Latina broadcast journalists in New York City as well as one of the few journalists who has worked for each of the Big Four television networks owned-and-operated stations in the New York metropolitan area.[1][2]

Early life and education

Rojas was born on April 1, 1939, in the Bronx to Agustina Rojas, who was a housekeeper and nanny, and Rafael Astolfo Rojas, who died when she was 10. She graduated Hunter College High School and attended the State University of New York at Albany, where she received a degree in education.[1]

In 1968, she joined a summer program for minority students—the only one of its kind at the time[3]—at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where she would later study journalism as a graduate student.[4]

Career

Before going into television, Rojas was a school teacher who taught middle school and high school students. In 1964, Rojas made her television debut on public television station WNDT (now known as WNET) where she presented a bilingual education program at the station, where its audience included Spanish-speaking audiences learning English as well as English-speaking audiences learning Spanish.[1]

In 1968, Rojas began her career in journalism at WCBS-TV, where she worked as a reporter trainee with the station. She would later work at WLS-TV in Chicago and then WNEW-TV (now WNYW) in New York.[1]

In 1974, Rojas was hired by WABC-TV news director Al Primo, who had previously brought the Eyewitness News format and title to New York City. The hiring of female reporters like Rojas also helped contribute to the success of the station; many stations in the 1970s saw a growing trend of hiring female reporters and eventually anchors in newscasts.[5] While working at the station, she also worked with Geraldo Rivera and Gil Noble in co-hosting Like It Is. Rojas helped launch the career of Rivera when she told him that WABC was looking to hire a bilingual reporter.[1][6] She would remain with the station as its New Jersey correspondent until 1986, when she went to work for WNBC.[7] Rojas retired in 1991.[1]

Later life and death

In 2012, Rojas moved to Maryland.[1] She would later publish a fictional memoir titled Fire Escapes.[4][8]

Rojas died from complications of cancer and kidney failure at a nursing home in Cambridge, Maryland, on February 2, 2022, at the age of 82.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Roberts, Sam (February 10, 2022). "Gloria Rojas, Trailblazing Latina Broadcaster, Dies at 82". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  2. ^ Niemietz, Brian (February 10, 2022). "Groundbreaking NYC TV reporter Gloria Rojas dead at 82, mourned by former colleagues". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Rock, Naomi (May 4, 1970). "Program Trains Minority Group Journalist". The Selma Times-Journal. Selma, Alabama. Associated Press. p. 9. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Kuperinsky, Amy (February 5, 2022). "Gloria Rojas, trailblazing 'Eyewitness News' reporter who covered N.J., dead at 82". NJ.com. Advance Publications. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  5. ^ Coard, Marjorie (February 17, 1983). "Gloria Rojas; 'what television does best is to make bureaucracy sit up.'". The Madison Eagle. Madison, New Jersey. p. 13. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dullea, Georgia (September 28, 1974). "The Women in TV: A Changing Image, A Growing Impact". The New York Times. p. 18. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  7. ^ "TV Shorts". Newsday. Nassau Edition (Hempstead, New York. January 25, 1986. p. II:24. Archived from the original on March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Cambridge resident publishes fictional memoir". Bay to Bay News. Independent NewsMedia. December 16, 2021. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  9. ^ "Former Eyewitness News reporter Gloria Rojas, NYC's first Latina broadcast journalist, dies". WABC-TV. New York. February 4, 2022. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
Categories