Lee is withering about English language rivals’ attempts to appeal to Hispanic audiences, saying that they give little coverage to topics such as immigration.

“They think getting a Hispanic voice is getting a reporter with a Spanish last name,” he says. “It is unbelievable how gringos believe they can have a Latino tone. They end up offending the community and patronising them. We are [portrayed] as the gardeners and the maids.”

Univision’s audience is a few decades younger than the average audience for English language news. It is made all the more amazing by the fact that the budget for Univision News is around 1/10th that of, say, ABC News. As the FT notes, ABC has benefited from Univision talent in recent months, as the two companies forge the new channel together.

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Dr. Juan José Rivera

In his new role, Rivera will host two weekly health segments on “Primer Impacto.” He will report on medical news across all Univision’s news platforms as well as contribute to Fusion, the joint Univision-ABC News network that is slated to launch later this year.

“His outstanding medical training and expertise, excellent communication skills, experience in Spanish-language media, and proven dedication to educating the Hispanic community about prevention and other important health issues make him the ideal candidate to lead Univision’s medical reporting efforts,” Univision news president Isaac Lee said in a statement.

Rivera is a former chief medical correspondent for Telemundo and online contributor to NBC News.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

TVNewser first reported that “Fusion” was one of the final names being considered back in mid December. Other names under consideration included “Una,” “Powr,” “Vzta” and “Accent.”

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Univision to launch Fusion,” said Anne Sweeney, co-chair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC TV. “Our collaboration will bring unmatched reporting capabilities and understanding of issues and entertainment that resonate with the Hispanic community”

The English-language network will be available at launch in millions of households, including on five of the nation’s biggest distributors: Cablevision, Charter, Cox, AT&T U-verse and Google Fiber.

“Fusion will be the indispensable meeting place for English-speaking Latinos,” added ABC News president Ben Sherwood in an announcement of the name. “Our goal is for this young, vibrant, and media hungry audience to come to Fusion to be informed, entertained and empowered. It will be fresh, fun and optimistic and of great interest to Latinos and non-Latinos alike.”

“Fusion will bring together diverse cultures, voices and viewpoints,” said Isaac Lee, president, Univision News. “We will explore the realities shaping the world, give Latinos a voice in the American conversation and deliver personally relevant local, national and global perspectives.”

The network has hired a CFO and other staffers as it eyes a September launch.

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Mitchell pressed them on what the new channel will be called, and though they dodged her questions it sounds as though they are close to finalizing a name. I previously reported that among the top contenders are “Una,” “U&A,” “Accent,” “VZTA” and “POWR.” We hear that another finalist is the name “Fusion.”

In describing the venture, Sherwood talked about how “news” is more than just politics, but also includes entertainment and sports, among other things.

“We are expanding the definition of what news is because it means something very different to a 34 year old or a 24 year old,” Sherwood said.

WATCH:

Univision & ABC News Roundtable: Isaac Lee & Ben Sherwood from The Paley Center for Media on FORA.tv

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Produced in participation with Facebook, the forums will take place leading up to the election in November, and will be presented in both Spanish and English. Rather than use a debate format, each forum will feature one of the two candidates, with Univision anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas moderating. There will be interactive elements on Univision’s Facebook page, and on Facebook;’s U.S. politics page.

“These events speak to President Obama and Governor Romney recognizing the important role Hispanic America will play in the elections and in defining the future of our country,” said Univision News President Isaac Lee in a statement. “In our role of informing and empowering our audience, and as part of Univision’s 50-year relationship with this community, these conversations are critically important to the community we serve. This important discussion is increasingly taking place on Facebook and we are excited to utilize the world’s largest social network to get people involved with issues that matter most to them.”

Univision asked the Debate Commission and the candidates to participate in a forum on Hispanic issues. The Commission declined, but the message clearly got across to the candidates.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Keith Summa

In his new role, which begins today, Summa will work with journalists at Univision, as well as the soon-to-be-launched joint venture between Univision and ABC News, “to support and expand the culture of investigative and enterprise reporting,” according to Univision. He will also serve as Univision’s liaison to ABC News for the channel.

In a statement, Univision president Isaac Lee praised Summa as “someone who is at the forefront of reporting on relevant issues and shedding light on topics that matter most to the community.”

Prior to his five years at CBS, Summa spent 15 years as a producer for ABC News and Peter Jennings Productions.

>Update: The Univision announcement is after the jump.

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“Univision has a deep and important relationship with the U.S. Hispanic audience,” says ABC News president Ben Sherwood in a note to staff, obtained by TVNewser. “By sharing our resources, we will inform, entertain and empower the enormously influential Hispanic American community and many others interested in our programming.”

Sherwood says the venture “is subject to the completion of definitive agreements.” This includes getting the big cable systems, including Comcast, Time Warner, Cox and Charter to carry the network.

Sherwood, along with Cesar Conde, president of Univision and Isaac Lee the president of Univision News, will hold a town hall with staffers at 12:30pmET to answer any questions.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report talks of a partnership in February.

Former NBC COO Randy Falco is now CEO of Univision Communications. Under his watch, the company has launched three cable channels, Univision Deportes, Univision tlNovelas and Univision Noticias.

Falco was president of NBC Broadcasting when the network launched MSNBC in 1996. Falco was also instrumental in NBC’s acquisition of Univision competitor Telemundo in 2002.

ABC’s owner, Disney, operates three of the top 10 cable networks: Disney Channel, ESPN and ABC Family. ABC News announced plans for a 24-hour newschannel in 1996, but abandoned the idea in May of that year after NBC/Microsoft and News Corp. ramped up plans for MSNBC and Fox News Channel. In 1982, ABC and Westinghouse partnered for the Satellite News Channel. That venture lasted 16 months, failing after not getting significant cable carriage.

Sherwood’s note after the jump…

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Falcón has been with Univision for 26 years, and was most recently in charge of the network’s news and sports divisions. She will remain as a special advisor to the company.

Journalist Isaac Lee is joining Univision as president of news, while Alexander “Sandy” Brown has been named president of sports.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the ongoing development of Univision’s unmatched news offerings,” said Lee in a statement. ” As a longtime member of the Spanish-language media I have always had tremendous respect for the incredible strides that Univision has made in delivering informative, entertaining and empowering content to the U.S. Hispanic community and feel fortunate to have this opportunity to continue enhancing and expanding the impact of Univision’s news offerings well into the future. I look forward to working with the incredible news operations teams at Univision.”

More information after the jump.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.