Telemundo will be part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History initiative "Escuchame: the History of Spanish-language Broadcasting in the U.S."
The Spanish-language broadcaster has donated photos, objects and oral histories from more than 40 current and former staffers.
The initiative is part of the American Enterprise exhibit about the role of business from the 1700's to the present. Telemundo's piece of that starts in the 1950's with its local station roots (it now has 18 TV stations). The network dates from 1987 and is owned by Comcast via its NBC/Universal purchase.
The donation will include press passes, ID badges, scripts, microphone cubes, a local Emmy and even a pair of tennis shoes painted to chronicle the career of anchor Dunia Elvir.
“By documenting the contributions of Spanish-language broadcasters and how they influenced the national narrative, this collection and its companion oral histories will change the way the history of American television is written,” said Kathleen Franz, curator of American business history, in accepting the donation, which was made at an Oct. 4 ceremony at the museum in Washington.
Among those in attendance were Telemundo anchor José Diaz-Balart, Marilys Llanos, reporter, WSCV-TV Miami and Allan Villafaña, anchor, WNJU-TV New York.
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LEARN MORE: The 15th annual Hispanic Television Summit, part of NYC Television Week, is coming up on Thursday, Oct. 19, at the Sheraton NY Times Square Hotel. For more information and to register, click this link.
