Rick Sanchez


Rick Sanchez Biography

Ricardo León "Rick" Sánchez de Reinaldo (born July 2, 1958), known professionally as Rick Sanchez, is a Cuban-American journalist, radio host, and author. He is currently a FOX News contributor, a columnist for FOX News Latino, a correspondent for Spanish language network Mundo Fox, and an afternoon radio host on WIOD 610 AM in South Florida.

After years as the lead local anchor on Miami's WSVN, Sanchez moved to cable news, first as a daytime anchor at MSNBC and then later at CNN, where he began as a correspondent and ultimately rose to become an anchor. On CNN, he hosted his own show Rick's List and served as a contributor to Anderson Cooper 360° and CNN International, where he frequently reported and translated between English and Spanish. Sanchez was fired from CNN on October 1, 2010, following controversial remarks he made on a radio program. In July 2011 Sanchez was hired by Florida International University, to serve as a color commentator for radio broadcasts of the school's football team. His first game was on September 1, 2011.

Personal life

Sanchez was born in Guanabacoa, Cuba, a township of Havana, and emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of two. He grew up in Hialeah, Florida, a suburb of Miami, and attended Mae M. Walters Elementary School, Henry H. Filer Middle School, and Hialeah High School, graduating in 1977. Sanchez accepted a football scholarship to Minnesota State University Moorhead and transferred to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis on a CBS/WCCO Journalism Scholarship in 1979.

Of his childhood Sanchez has said, "I grew up not speaking English, dealing with real prejudice every day as a kid; watching my dad work in a factory, wash dishes, drive a truck, get spit on. I've been told that I can't do certain things in life simply because I was a Hispanic." He prefers to be called Rick Sanchez rather than use his birth name because, as he said in a newscast in 2009, "...I want to be respectful of this wonderful country that allowed us as Hispanics to come here, and I think it's easier if someone's able to understand me by Anglicizing my name."

Sanchez and his wife, Suzanne, have three sons and one daughter: Ricky Jr.; Robby; Remington; and Savannah.

Drunk Driving Incident

On December 10, 1990, Sanchez was in a neighborhood in the vicinity of Joe Robbie Stadium, driving home from a Dolphins football game when he struck Jeffrey Smuzinick, a pedestrian. Smuzinick, who had been drinking heavily, was returning to his Pembroke Pines home with friends. He suddenly decided they were driving in the wrong direction, jumped from the car and ran into the path of a silver 1991 Volvo that was being driven by Sanchez. Smuzinick was severely injured. Officers allowed Sanchez to leave the scene and drive to his home to pick up his driver's license and drop off his father, returning after just 20 minutes.

Sanchez was not charged with causing the accident. Police administered blood tests just over an hour after the accident, which showed that Smuzinick had a blood alcohol level of .235%, more than twice the legal limit in Florida, while Sanchez's blood alcohol level was .15%, one and a half times the legal limit in Florida. Sanchez was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) and pleaded No Contest.

Smuzinick was paralyzed, and five years later on November 2, 1995, died in an assisted living facility at the age of 36.

Career

Sanchez began his broadcasting career at WCCO's satellite sister station KCMT (now KCCO-TV) in Alexandria, Minnesota, while still in college. He was hired at WSVN (formerly WCKT) in Miami in 1982 and became a weekend anchor shortly thereafter. He worked briefly for KHOU in Houston before returning to an afternoon anchor position with WSVN. Sanchez was hired at MSNBC in 2001.

In 2003, Sanchez left MSNBC to return to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale TV market. While there, he hosted a local talk show on WTVJ. Sanchez later anchored on then-WB affiliated WBZL (now WSFL) until he joined CNN in 2004. He won an Emmy Award in 1983 for his series titled When I left Cuba.

Based at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, Sanchez joined the network in September 2004. Sanchez reported on major events across the United States and around the world. For eight months, in the interim between Paula Zahn and Campbell Brown, he anchored Out in the Open at 8 p.m ET.

On January 18, 2010 he began hosting his own two-hour show in the afternoons, Rick's List, where he invited viewers to share their opinions and questions via MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. Viewer comments about the day's news stories were displayed both on large plasma screens in the studio and scrolled at the bottom of the screen. His use of social networking tools to create a citizen-driven news program was recognized by the Newseum in Washington, D.C. and has generated mostly positive feedback.

And after the cancellation of Campbell Brown's show, Sanchez again took over the 8 p.m. EST slot with an evening version of "Rick's List", which continued until the premier of Parker Spitzer. Sanchez also filled in for Anderson Cooper and Ali Velshi on Your Money on occasion.

Sanchez was involved in the network's Peabody Award-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He anchored the network's coverage for eight hours as the levees broke in New Orleans, Louisiana, and began filing live reports from the flooding the next day.

Sanchez joined FOX News in 2012. He is currently a FOX News Contributor and a columnist for their FOX News Latino website.

Firing from CNN

On September 30, 2010, Sanchez was interviewed on Sirius XM's radio show Stand Up With Pete Dominick. Sanchez's interview occurred on the final day of his show in the 8 p.m. time slot and he was reportedly angry about being replaced by CNN's new Parker Spitzer talk show as well as the occasional jokes made at his expense on The Daily Show. Sanchez called Daily Show host Jon Stewart a "bigot"; after questioning, Sanchez backed down from using the term and referred to Stewart as "prejudicial" and "uninformed." When queried on the issue of whether Stewart likewise belonged to a minority group on account of his Jewish ethnicity, Sanchez responded, </ref>}} Some media coverage suggested that Sanchez' comments insinuated that Jews controlled CNN and other networks.

Others, however, disagreed, including noted author and columnist Christopher Hitchens who characterized Sanchez' remarks as "uncontroversial," and wrote that Sanchez, "...didn't descend into saying that there was Jewish control of the media." The Washington Post's Greg Sargent wrote, "...[R]eading the full context, it seems at least possible that when he referred to Stewart and the people at the networks he was referring not to Jews, but to snooty white liberal elites who don't understand minorities. After all, that's who he'd been talking about during the bulk of the whole exchange." And The Maynard Institute's Richard Prince noted that the Sanchez story had been widely reported inaccurately.

Nonetheless, a day after his remarks, CNN announced that Sanchez was no longer employed with the company.

Some believed that Sanchez' departure was motivated by other reasons. CNN president Jonathan Klein, who was a supporter of Sanchez and had given him increased air time, was fired just one week before Sanchez, leading some to believe that Sanchez's firing may have been motivated by other reasons in addition to the comments. New York Magazine wrote, "The rumor that Sanchez was already on his way out in the wake of former CNN president Jonathan Klein's ouster from the company has been circling the Sanchez story."

During his time at CNN, Sanchez once called President Barack Obama a "cotton-picking president," a remark for which he apologized, explaining that he had grown up in the South where the phrase was a colloquialism. He also attributed unconfirmed quotes to Rush Limbaugh, for which he also later apologized.

Despite his firing, upon leaving CNN, Sanchez said, "...I want to go on record to say that I have nothing but the highest regard for CNN and for my six wonderful years with them. I appreciate every opportunity that they have given me, and it has been a wonderful experience working for them."

Apology for comments

In the days after the incident, Sanchez apologized several times. In an appearance on Good Morning America, Sanchez told George Stephanopoulos, "I said some things I shouldn't have said. They were wrong. Not only were they wrong, they were offensive." He added, "?I apologize and it was wrong for me to be so careless and so inartful? But it happened and I can't take it back and, you know what, now I have to stand up and be responsible."

Sanchez also called and personally apologized to Stewart. He released a statement expressing regret for his "inartful" comments, adding "I am very much opposed to hate and intolerance, in any form, and I have frequently spoken out against prejudice." On October 20, 2010, Jon Stewart told Larry King that Sanchez should have never been fired, calling the firing "absolute insanity," and that he was not "personally hurt."

In a letter to the head of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman, Sanchez apologized once again, writing, "...[T]here are no words strong enough for me to express my regret and sorrow over what I said. It was offensive, and I deeply, sincerely and unequivocally apologize for the hurt that I have caused. I tell my children that when they make a mistake, they should take responsibility, atone and work to repair whatever they have done... I cannot undo the offense or controversy I caused; all I can do is to try and learn from this experience and strive to become a better person."

Following a meeting with Foxman, Foxman said Sanchez can now "put the matter to rest," adding that he hoped Sanchez can now move on with his life and work.

Jewish outreach

In late 2010, Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach held a public event at Manhattan's Carlebach Synagogue with Sanchez and commented, "Our community has enough problems without looking for anti-Semitism where it doesn't exist. Rick Sanchez was humiliated and his reputation dragged through the mud... The Jewish religion says that a man's most cherished possession is his good name. Rick deserves the opportunity to reclaim his." Sanchez and Rabbi Boteach spoke for nearly two hours.

In 2011, Sanchez visited Israel as part of an ADL-sponsored trip for Latino journalists. Sanchez spoke at the ADL's National Executive Committee Meeting in 2012, where Sanchez recounted, "the long and unexpected voyage... [and] personal journey that led me to a man I now call a friend: Abe Foxman, who has led me to know myself and led me to grow in unexpected ways."

Discrimination in cable news

Sanchez has spoken out about what he sees as a lack of diversity in cable news and, in particular, has described his own personal experiences and his opinion of network news practices towards minorities. In 2010, he noted that in the "landscape" of cable-news prime-time hosts, "There's not a single Hispanic, a single Asian-American, or a single African-American." On another occasion, he discussed the bias against minorities that he sees as ingrained: </ref>}}

Football announcer

On July 27, 2011 the AP reported that Rick Sanchez had started a job as a radio announcer for Florida International University. Starting in September 2011, Sanchez provides analysis of the FIU football team.

Return to cable news

Rick Sanchez has returned as a columnist on Fox News Latino. Sanchez was offered a short term employment with the website, in which he is expected to provide insights into the Latino community. Fox News Latino coincidentally also launched in October 2010, the same month Sanchez was fired from CNN. Since joining Fox News Latino, he has appeared on the Fox News Channel as a contributor. In July 2009, Sanchez had disparaged Hispanic employees of Fox News as having "sold out" and in April 2009, suggested that the perpetrator of the 2009 Pittsburgh police shootings was influenced by Fox News.




This webpage uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rick_Sanchez" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions the Wikipedia article may contain.
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