The Martís will have a new boss come Saturday.
Maria González becomes director of the Office of Cuba Broadcasting, which oversees Radio Martí, TV Martí and Martinoticias.com. She succeeds Carlos A. Garcia-Pérez, who was director for five years.
Broadcasting Board of Governors Chairman Jeff Shell said González joins at “a critical time for Cuba broadcasting” and described her as a seasoned, Emmy award-winning journalist, “a proven leader and an innovator.”
According to the announcement, she began in journalism in Puerto Rico and subsequently worked for Univision and then Telemundo, where she produced several shows and launched “CBS TeleNoticias,” a 24-hour pan-regional news network. “Since then she has created popular programs for Venevision International, served as general manager for an independent local station in Puerto Rico, and most recently has served as vice-president and station manager for WLII and WSTE, two local stations owned and operated by Univision.”
BBG CEO and Director John Lansing called outgoing director Garcia-Pérez “a tireless defender of Article 19” of the of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors also said in the announcement that despite changes in the relationship with the United States, “Cuba continues to have one of the world’s most restrictive media environments.”
