“From the Front Lines: A Conversation with Maria Hinojosa

We are pleased to bring Maria Hinojosa, American journalist and host of NPR’s weekly radio program, Latino USA, as this year’s Cressman Lecturer in the Humanities. Hinojosa will kick off the OHC’s 2017–18 lecture series on our theme, “We the People,” on Thursday evening, October 5, 2017.

The first Latina reporter to be hired by NPR, Hinojosa helped to launch Latino USA, one of the earliest public radio programs devoted to the Latino community. She has anchored the show for its entire 22-year run, and since 2000 has also been the program’s executive producer. In 2010 she became the founder, president, and CEO of Futuro Media Group, an independent nonprofit organization producing multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diversity of the American experience. She is also the anchor and Executive Producer of the PBS show America By the Numbers with Maria Hinojosa, through which she has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad.

In her nearly 30 years as a journalist, Hinojosa has worked for CNN, PBS, CBS, WNBC, and WGBH. Her previous projects include PBS’ Need to Know series, and the WGBH/La Plaza program Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One, a talk show featuring interviews with diverse guests including actors, writers, activists, and politicians. She served for five years as a Senior Correspondent for NOW on PBS. Additionally, Hinojosa was the first Latina to anchor a FRONTLINE report: aired in October 2011, “Lost in Detention” explored abuse at immigrant detention facilities, garnering attention from Capitol Hill to both the mainstream and Spanish-language media.

Throughout her career, Hinojosa has been drawn to the mission behind public media and its power to give voice to the diversity of opinions that represent the complexity of our country. Her goal as a journalist is to share America’s untold stories and to highlight today’s critical issues in a responsible and respectful manner.

Hinojosa has won numerous awards for her work, including four Emmys; the 2012 John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism; the Robert F. Kennedy Award for Reporting on the Disadvantaged; and the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Overseas Press Club for best documentary for her groundbreaking “Child Brides: Stolen Lives.” In addition to broadcast work, Hinojosa has been a syndicated columnist and is the author of two books.