Telemundo

KVDA, the Telemundo station in San Antonio, will launch two evening newscasts on May 21.

The 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts will be anchored by Esmeralda Medellin, who has held reporter and anchor positions at Spanish-language stations in Dallas and Chicago. Other members of the news team include sports anchor Jaime Becerril with sports and Lilian Perez with weather and entertainment.

“It is a privilege to start a new local newscast in this day and age that is both dynamic and dedicated, offering viewers in San Antonio and surrounding areas, extensive coverage of the stories that shape and change their lives,” news director Johnny Cordoba said in a statement. “We are excited to share our vision of what local news should be, and meet the needs of the community that we serve.”

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As part of a multimillion dollar investment in its O&Os, the Telemundo station group has announced the appointment of new general managers in three markets: Los Angeles, Puerto Rico and Miami.

Celia Chavez will take the helm at KVEA in Los Angeles. Chavez comes from WSNS, the Telemundo station in Chicago, where she has been president and general manager since 2009.

At WKAQ in Puerto Rico, Jose Cancela will take over as president and general manager. Cancela comes from KVEA in Los Angeles, where he has been president for less than a year. Read more

Manuel Martínez has been named president and general manager of WTVJ, the NBC O&O in Miami, NBC announced today. His appointment is effective immediately.

Martínez joins WTVJ from WSCV, the Telemundo station in Miami, where he has been president and general manager since 2007. In a statement, Martínez said he is excited to “now work directly with the NBC 6 team.” Telemundo is owned by NBC; WTVJ and WSCV share headquarters in Miami.

“He possesses a strong understanding of the unique South Florida market, a key factor that will help guide NBC 6 to future growth,” Valari Staab, president of the NBC-owned stations, said in announcing Martínez’s hire.

Martínez replaces Ardyth Dierks, who left WTVJ last month after eight years as president and general manager.

NBC Universal announced plans to relocate its Los Angeles news operations, including KNBC and KVEA, to a new state-of-the-art facility on the Universal lot next year.

In addition to NBC owned-and-operated KNBC and Telemundo-affiliate KVEA, the LA bureau for NBC’s “Nightly News” and Telemundo will be moved, according to the Los Angeles Times. The current NBC Universal building is in Burbank.

KNBC’s studio facilities were upgraded just last month as part of a rebranding effort at the station.

Manuel Abud has been named president of the Telemundo Station Group.

Abud is a longtime Telemundo executive who most recently served as president and general manager of the company’s Dallas station, KXTX.  He is replacing Ronald Gordon, who was recently named chairman of ZGS Communications, which owns the largest group of independent stations affiliated with Telemundo.

“Manuel is an accomplished media executive and has been a vital part of our success for many years,” said Telemundo Media president Emilio Romano. “His impressive track record at Telemundo, together with his strong operational skills and deep management expertise, make him the ideal candidate to continue the great work Ron has done at our stations.”

Abud’s first day on the job will be January 1st.

Jose Cancela has been named general manager of KVEA, the Telemundo station in Los Angeles. The move marks a return to Telemundo for Cancela, who was president and chief operating officer of their station group from 1992 to 1998.

“We are excited to welcome Jose back to Telemundo,” current station group president Ronald Gordon said in a statement. “His leadership skills, extensive broadcasting and operational experience, as well as his deep knowledge and understanding of the U.S. Hispanic audience will be a tremendous asset to KVEA.”

Cancela has vast experience across Spanish language stations. His career began at Univision in 1984 as an account executive at Miami’s WLTV before taking on several other  management positions across Univision stations. He joins KVEA from Hispanic USA Inc., a market resource firm in Miami that he founded in 2004. In 2003, Cancela was a candidate for mayor of Miami-Dade County; his campaign ended in 2004.

A day after longtime NBCUniversal executive Paula Madison announced her retirement, another longtime local and network news topper is retiring.

Don Browne, who has been president of Telemundo since 2005, is leaving the company June 3 — the eighth anniversary of his arrival at the Miami-based, NBCU-owned Spanish-language network.

Browne’s TV news career began with CBS News, working his way into the Atlanta bureau in 1974. That’s where he met his wife Cuban-born, Maria Junquera. (Browne — as head of the #2 Spanish language network in the U.S., speaks little Spanish.)

Browne moved to Miami as NBC News bureau chief in 1979. 10 years later he headed to New York as executive news director and later, EVP of NBC News.

He returned to Miami in 1993 to run WTVJ, which had been acquired by NBC. He remained President and GM of WTVJ until his move to Telemundo, which had also recently been acquired by NBC.

“Don Browne has had an outstanding career as a broadcaster and executive,” said NBCU CEO Steve Burke. “We are grateful for what he has accomplished and wish him all the best on a well-deserved retirement.”

A successor to Browne will be announced in the coming months.

Press release after the jump…

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