KCEC anchor relishes role in reporting stories for Spanish speakers

[Colorado Media Newsroom]

From The Denver Post:

KCEC anchor relishes role in reporting stories for Spanish speakers


KCEC Univision news anchor Juan Carlos Gutiérrez, shown at the station's new headquarters, just won two regional Emmys for his television work on stories in the immigrant community


A majority of Denver TV news viewers may have been puzzled when the name was called at this month's regional Emmy Awards gala: winner for best large-market TV anchor, Juan Carlos Gutiérrez.

Gutiérrez, an anchor and producer for Spanish-language Univision affiliate KCEC-Channel 50, has been in the market for 2½ years.

He won the Emmy this year in a tie with KUSA's Kyle Clark and Cheryl Preheim.

While not a household name, his "Noticias Univision Colorado" program — weekdays at 5 and 10 p.m. on KCEC Denver-KVSN Colorado Springs/Pueblo — is a serious ratings contender, regularly tying or besting the top-rated English-language newscasts.

The new KCEC offices, in a sleekly designed space in the Highland neighborhood overlooking downtown and Elitch Gardens, are a vast improvement over the cramped old building on Capitol Hill. The enormous glass anchor desk sits on a platform that rotates to allow one camera shot with the newsroom in the background, another with the window and the Denver skyline.

The newsroom is regularly tapped to supply stories for the national network. The staff of 18 is "like a United Nations," Gutiérrez says, referring to the Argentinian meteorologist, Cuban producer, Colombian news director, Costa Rican and Mexican technicians and others.

Gutiérrez is from Colombia. He didn't come to the U.S. until age 21 and he acknowledges his English is Spanish-accented.

Within a year of immigrating, after working in restaurants at Vail Resorts, he had landed at Telemundo in Denver, later working in New York and Chicago for Azteca America. From there, he was sent to Iowa.

"I was an alien. I got to teach them that not everybody who speaks Spanish is Mexican. I broke a lot of stereotypes."

He moved to Colorado to be with his daughter, age 8. The single dad, age 34, said his mother is "my strength." (His mother is in Colombia, his father in Venezuela, his sister in Chicago.)

He not only anchors the 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts but produces the 10 p.m. show.

"Ten p.m. is my baby," he says, four camera-ready dimples lighting up his face. He cuts his own hair, does his own makeup.

The job of anchor is somewhat different in the Univision model compared with the English-language network affiliates. While all local TV news readers do a certain amount of community/charity work, public appearances and such, the Entravision station staff sees itself in a particular advocacy role for viewers.

"We are not advisers but relate with the community more as advocates. We have to look out for them."

Where other anchors are expected to remain a journalistic step removed, the Channel 50 anchor feels a personal stake in certain subjects.

"We're supposed to be neutral, but I will always be an immigrant," he said. The topics he reports on "go directly to your heart." Staffers continually field questions from viewers about mortgages, bank accounts, immigration questions and such, and the station hosts community meetings.

"I don't want them to get ripped off, but they do."

His latest notable news story, "Sobre la mesa" ("Over the Table"), which won an Emmy for politics/government reporting, revealed that numerous coroners have no medical training and can seriously compromise a forensic investigation.

"We went through a lot of morgues."

Gutiérrez has become a figurehead in the No. 15 Hispanic market in the country. He claims to wish Azteca America and Telemundo here would launch more live newscasts and do more investigative reports because competition is good for everyone.

"Colorado is becoming a player," he said.

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