Rick Sanchez
Encyclopedia
Ricardo León "Rick" Sánchez de Reinaldo (born July 3, 1958), known professionally as Rick Sanchez, is a Cuban-American journalist, author and former TV news anchor. After years as the lead local anchor on Miami's WSVN, Sanchez moved to cable news, first as a daytime anchor at MSNBC and then later at CNN, where he began as a correspondent and ultimately rose to become an anchor. On CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, he hosted his own show Rick's List
Rick's List
Rick's List was a news and commentary program on CNN hosted by Rick Sanchez. The show aired weekdays from 3 to 5 PM EST. It first aired on Monday, January 18, 2010, when Sanchez's one-hour segment of CNN Newsroom was lengthened to two hours and given its own title, and The Situation Room with...

and served as a contributor to Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360°
Anderson Cooper 360° is a one-hour television news show on CNN, hosted by the American journalist Anderson Cooper. It is also broadcast around the world on CNN International....

and CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...

, where he frequently reported and translated between English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. Sanchez was fired from CNN on October 1, 2010. Rick Sanchez has been hired by Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...

 as a color commentator
Color commentator
A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...

 and his first game was on September 1, 2011.

Personal life

Sanchez was born in Guanabacoa, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, a township of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

, and emigrated to the United States with his parents at the age of two. He grew up in Hialeah
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...

, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, a suburb of Miami, and attended Mae M. Walters Elementary School, Henry H. Filer Middle School, and Hialeah High School
Hialeah High School
Hialeah High School is a secondary school located at 251 E 47th Street in Hialeah, Florida, USA.-History:Hialeah High School opened its doors to students and staff in 1953 to serve the growing communities of Northwestern Miami-Dade County. It is one of the oldest secondary schools in the county,...

, graduating in 1977. Sanchez accepted a football scholarship to Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Minnesota State University Moorhead is a four-year, public university located in Moorhead, Minnesota. The school has an enrollment of nearly 7,500 students and 337 full-time faculty members. MSUM is a part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system...

 and transferred to the University of Minnesota
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 in Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 on a CBS
CBS Corporation
CBS Corporation is an American media conglomerate focused on commercial broadcasting, publishing, billboards and television production, with most of its operations in the United States. The President and CEO of the company is Leslie Moonves. Sumner Redstone, owner of National Amusements, is CBS's...

/WCCO
WCCO-TV
WCCO-TV, is the CBS owned and operated television station that serves the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota. Its transmitter is at the Telefarm complex in Shoreview, Minnesota.- History :...

 Journalism Scholarship in 1979.

Of his childhood Sanchez has said, "I grew up not speaking English, dealing with real prejudice every day as a kid; watching my dad work in a factory, wash dishes, drive a truck, get spit on. I've been told that I can't do certain things in life simply because I was a Hispanic." He prefers to be called Rick Sanchez rather than use his birth name because, as he said in a newscast in 2009, "...I want to be respectful of this wonderful country that allowed us as Hispanics to come here, and I think it's easier if someone's able to understand me by Anglicizing my name."

Sanchez and his wife, Suzanne, have three sons and one daughter: Ricky Jr.; Robby; Remington; and Savannah.

Drunk driving incident

On December 10, 1990, Sanchez was in a neighborhood in the vicinity of Joe Robbie Stadium, driving home from a Dolphins football game when he struck Jeffrey Smuzinick, a pedestrian. Smuzinick, who had been drinking heavily, was returning to his Pembroke Pines home with friends. He suddenly decided they were driving in the wrong direction, jumped from the car and ran into the path of a 1991 silver Volvo, driven by Sanchez. Smuzinick was paralyzed
Paralysis
Paralysis is loss of muscle function for one or more muscles. Paralysis can be accompanied by a loss of feeling in the affected area if there is sensory damage as well as motor. A study conducted by the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, suggests that about 1 in 50 people have been diagnosed...

, and five years later on November 2, 1995, died in an assisted living
Assisted living
Assisted living residences or assisted living facilities provide supervision or assistance with activities of daily living ; coordination of services by outside health care providers; and monitoring of resident activities to help to ensure their health, safety, and well-being.Assistance may...

 facility at the age of 36. A blood test by police determined that Sanchez's blood alcohol level was .15, above the legal limit of .10. Sanchez was charged with driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...

 (DUI) and pleaded No Contest
Nolo contendere
is a legal term that comes from the Latin for "I do not wish to contend." It is also referred to as a plea of no contest.In criminal trials, and in some common law jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neither admits nor disputes a charge, serving as an alternative to a pleading of...

. Sanchez was not charged with hitting Smuzinick.

Career

Sanchez began his broadcasting career at WCCO's satellite sister station
Sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio and/or television stations operated by the same ownership....

 KCMT (now KCCO-TV) in Alexandria, Minnesota
Alexandria, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per...

, while still in college. He was hired at WSVN
WSVN
WSVN, channel 7, is a television station located in Miami, Florida, USA. WSVN is owned by Sunbeam Television, and is an affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. The station has its studio facilities located in North Bay Village and transmitter based in north Miami-Dade County.WSVN operates a Key...

 (formerly WCKT) in Miami in 1982 and became a weekend anchor shortly thereafter. He worked briefly for KHOU in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

 before returning to an afternoon anchor position with WSVN. Sanchez was hired at MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 in 2001.

In 2003, Sanchez left MSNBC to return to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...

 TV market. While there, he hosted a local talk show on WTVJ
WTVJ
WTVJ, virtual channel 6 , is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC television network, located in Broward County. WTVJ shares its TV studio and office facility with co-owned Telemundo station WSCV in Miramar, Florida, and its transmitter is located near Sun Life Stadium in north...

. Sanchez later anchored on then-WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...

 affiliated WBZL
WSFL-TV
WSFL-TV, channel 39, is a The CW Television Network-affiliated television station located in Miami. Owned by the Tribune Company, the station shares studios with co-owned newspaper the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, and has its transmitter based in Miramar, Florida.It is a television station in...

 (now WSFL) until he joined CNN in 2004. He won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

 in 1983 for his series titled When I left Cuba.

Based at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, Sanchez joined the network in September 2004. Sanchez reported on major events across the United States and around the world. For eight months, in the interim between Paula Zahn and Campbell Brown
Campbell Brown
Campbell Brown is an American television news reporter and anchor. She previously hosted an eponymous primetime show on CNN and was formerly co-anchor of NBC's Weekend Today...

, he anchored Out in the Open at 8 p.m ET.

On January 18, 2010 he began hosting his own two-hour show in the afternoons, Rick's List
Rick's List
Rick's List was a news and commentary program on CNN hosted by Rick Sanchez. The show aired weekdays from 3 to 5 PM EST. It first aired on Monday, January 18, 2010, when Sanchez's one-hour segment of CNN Newsroom was lengthened to two hours and given its own title, and The Situation Room with...

, where he invited viewers to share their opinions and questions via MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

, Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...

, and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

. Viewer comments about the day's news stories were displayed both on large plasma screens in the studio and scrolled at the bottom of the screen. His use of social networking tools to create a citizen-driven news program was recognized by the Newseum in Washington, D.C. and has generated mostly positive feedback.

And after the cancellation of Campbell Brown's show, Sanchez again took over the 8 p.m. EST slot with an evening version of "Rick's List
Rick's List
Rick's List was a news and commentary program on CNN hosted by Rick Sanchez. The show aired weekdays from 3 to 5 PM EST. It first aired on Monday, January 18, 2010, when Sanchez's one-hour segment of CNN Newsroom was lengthened to two hours and given its own title, and The Situation Room with...

", which continued until the premier of Parker Spitzer
Parker Spitzer
In the Arena was a one-hour show on CNN that premiered October 4, 2010 as Parker Spitzer and was hosted by former New York Democratic governor Eliot Spitzer and Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist Kathleen Parker. It was broadcast weeknights in prime time at 8 p.m. ET, replacing Campbell...

. Sanchez also filled in for Anderson Cooper
Anderson Cooper
Anderson Hays Cooper is an American journalist, author, and television personality. He is the primary anchor of the CNN news show Anderson Cooper 360°. The program is normally broadcast live from a New York City studio; however, Cooper often broadcasts live on location for breaking news stories...

 and Ali Velshi
Ali Velshi
Ali Velshi is a Canadian-American television journalist best known for his work on CNN. He is CNN's Chief Business Correspondent, Anchor of CNN's Wake Up Call and a co-host of CNN's weekday morning show American Morning.-Personal life:...

 on Your Money
Your Money
Your Money, also known as Your $$$$$, is a one-hour news show hosted by Christine Romans and Ali Velshi broadcast by CNN from the Time Warner Center studios in New York City. The show breaks down the business news of the week and shows viewers how it impacts their bottom line...

on occasion.

Sanchez was involved in the network's Peabody Award
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...

-winning coverage of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

. He anchored the network's coverage for eight hours as the levees broke in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, and began filing live reports from the flooding the next day.

Firing from CNN

On September 30, 2010, Sanchez was interviewed on Sirius XM's radio show Stand Up With Pete Dominick
Stand Up With Pete Dominick
Stand Up! With Pete Dominick is a political talk show airing weekdays from the Sirius studios in New York City and broadcast on the P.O.T.U.S. channel, heard on the Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio platforms...

.
Sanchez's interview occurred on the final day of his show in the 8 p.m. time slot and he was reportedly angry about being replaced by CNN's new Parker Spitzer
Parker Spitzer
In the Arena was a one-hour show on CNN that premiered October 4, 2010 as Parker Spitzer and was hosted by former New York Democratic governor Eliot Spitzer and Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist Kathleen Parker. It was broadcast weeknights in prime time at 8 p.m. ET, replacing Campbell...

talk show as well as the occasional jokes made at his expense on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...

.
Sanchez called Daily Show host Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...

 a "bigot"; after questioning, Sanchez backed down from using the term and referred to Stewart as "prejudicial" and "uninformed." When queried on the issue of whether Stewart likewise belonged to a minority group on account of his Jewish ethnicity, Sanchez responded, Some media coverage suggested that Sanchez' comments insinuated that Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

 controlled CNN and other networks.

Sanchez also described his experiences and opinion of news network practices,

In the day following his remarks, CNN announced that Sanchez was no longer employed with the company.

Sanchez once called President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 a "cotton-picking president," a remark for which he apologized, explaining that he had grown up in the South where the phrase was a colloquialism. He also attributed unconfirmed quotes to Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...

, for which he also later apologized.

Although Sanchez was described by some as a polarizing figure at CNN, former CNN president Jonathan Klein
Jonathan Klein
Jon or Jonathan Klein may refer to:* Jonathan Klein , former president of the American television news network CNN* Jonathan Klein , founder of Getty Images...

 was a supporter and gave Sanchez increased air time. Klein was fired just one week before Sanchez, leading some to believe that Sanchez's firing may have been motivated by other reasons in addition to the comments.

Despite his firing, upon leaving CNN, Sanchez said, "...I want to go on record to say that I have nothing but the highest regard for CNN and for my six wonderful years with them. I appreciate every opportunity that they have given me, and it has been a wonderful experience working for them."

In the days after the incident, Sanchez called and personally apologized to Stewart. He also released a statement expressing regret for his "inartful" comments, adding "I am very much opposed to hate and intolerance, in any form, and I have frequently spoken out against prejudice." On October 20, 2010, Jon Stewart told Larry King that Sanchez should have never been fired, calling the firing "absolute insanity," and that he was not "personally hurt." Following his firing, Sanchez appeared on several shows (including Good Morning America) to expand on his apology and call attention to his recent book. Sanchez blamed "fatigue" for calling Stewart a "bigot," but acknowledged that the "chip on my shoulder" was partly to blame for his comments.
The head of the Anti-Defamation League Abraham Foxman
Abraham Foxman
Abraham H. Foxman is the National Director of the Anti-Defamation League.-Early life:Foxman, an only son, was born in Baranovichi, just months after the USSR took the town from Poland in the Nazi-Soviet Pact and incorporated it into the BSSR. The town is now in Belarus...

, following a meeting with Sanchez, said Sanchez can now "put the matter to rest." Foxman said he hopes Sanchez can now move on with his life and work. Orthodox Rabbi Shmuley Boteach
Shmuley Boteach
Shmuel "Shmuley" Boteach is an American Orthodox rabbi, author, TV host and public speaker.Among other books, Boteach wrote Kosher Sex: A Recipe for Passion and Intimacy, published in 1999, which openly discusses intimacy and sexual intercourse...

 held a public event at Manhattan's Carlebach Synagogue with Sanchez and said: "Rick Sanchez was humiliated," and went on to state that Rick Sanchez deserves the chance to reclaim his good name.

External links

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