Sanchez Goes Home to Miami
MSNBC anchor will host talk show at WTVJ(TV)
By P. Llanor Alleyne -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/7/2003
Rick Sanchez, an MSNBC anchor, is moving back home to Miami to begin hosting a yet-to-be titled talk show for WTVJ(TV), the NBC-owned station there. If the show clicks, it may go national via NBC-owned Telemundo.
Sanchez got his start as a reporter at WSVN-TV Miami in 1982. He briefly worked as anchor at KHOU-TV Houston but returned to WSVN-TV. He joined MSNBC in 2001.
Setting a precedent as the first person to both anchor a television news program and host a talk show on Spanish-language radio, Sanchez kept his Miami ties alive via El Show de Rick Sanchez. The show will continue to be simulcast on Hispanic Broadcasting's WQBA(AM) Miami and WADO(AM) New York weekdays at 4-6 p.m.
"Rick was one of the more dynamic anchors in Miami," says WTVJ(TV) Vice President and News Director Tim Geraghty. "The idea for the new show is to mix Rick's personality and passion with the fascinating characters who live in South Florida."
Geraghty is also banking on Sanchez's local popularity to draw viewers to the station's weakest daypart, early fringe.
Sanchez currently delivers breaking news for CNBC and files radio updates for NBC National radio. He will continue to do the latter after his arrival at WTVJ(TV).
Sanchez's homecoming reunites him with his mentor, Don Browne, former NBC Miami bureau chief, who is now chief operating officer of Telemundo.
