Launching Your Media Career

 

We hoped you enjoyed our latest Suncoast Spotlight webinar, Launching and Growing Your Media Career. We were fortunate to have such an outstanding group of professionals who shared their industry knowledge in hopes that they could help you skyrocket your career goals! Our thanks go to José Suárez, Olga Aldape, Osvaldo “Ozzie” Martinéz, Jeff Schlesser, Anzio Williams and Zalome Briceño. The webinar was streamed LIVE on YouTube, and in case you missed it, you can still catch it again. 

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JOSÉ ALBERTO SUÁREZ

Launching and Growing Your Media Career Moderator

José Alberto Suárez is the President and General Manager of the Telemundo stations in Fresno (KNSO), Sacramento (KCSO), and Utah (KULX), the NBCUniversal-owned television stations that serve Spanish-speaking audiences in these markets. Suárez leads all station operations including news/digital, sales, marketing/promotions, human resources, community affairs, and technology/operations.
 
With more than 20 years of local television experience, Suárez has worked for television stations in Florida, Ohio, New Mexico, and Texas. Before being named President/GM of KNSO, KCSO, and KULX, he worked as President/GM of Telemundo 60 / KVDA, where he transformed Telemundo 60 into a multi-platform local news station, and a strong local business by fostering a work culture of teamwork and innovation.

Before his success at KVDA, Suárez worked at NBC 6 / WTVJ, where he worked as Director of Creative Services and Local Programming, Executive Producer for the station’s local weekday entertainment show 6 in The Mix, and as an Executive Producer for NBC 6’s local weekday newscasts. While at NBC 6, Suárez successfully led the station’s marketing, sales promotions, and integration and community outreach teams to create unique and dynamic marketing and on-air promotional materials in English and Spanish-language to meet the South Florida market’s demographic demands.

Before joining NBC 6, Suárez worked at the Telemundo Station Group as Director of Digital Platforms, where he was responsible for managing the online editorial content for Telemundo-owned stations all across the country. Before this, Suárez worked as Director of Digital Media for NBC 6 and Telemundo 51 Miami / WSCV and played a pivotal role in creating content that helped promote the stations’ news properties and other entertainment and consumer platforms. Before joining NBCUniversal, Suárez worked as News Director for CW South Florida / WSFL, Fox Toledo / WUPW, and NBC 3 San Angelo / KSAN.  

An award-winning journalist, Suárez has received numerous accolades including a Lone Star Emmy® award for “Outstanding Achievement Overall Excellence” for KVDA in San Antonio, a Suncoast Chapter Emmy® award for “Outstanding Station Promotion Image” for his work at NBC 6, three Cleveland chapter Emmy® awards for “Outstanding Daily Newscast” (Market 41+), and numerous Associated Press awards for his work at Fox Toledo / WUPW.


Olga Aldape

Launching and Growing Your Media Career Panelist

Olga Aldape is an experienced Human Resources Leader with a demonstrated history of working in the media and entertainment industry. Skilled in Management, Coaching, and Development of Business Leaders, Strategic and Operational Leadership, Succession Planning, and Recruiting.

Olga is currently the Vice President of Human Resources for the following NBC and Telemundo-owned and operated stations: DFW, San Antonio, Denver and Las Vegas. In her previous roles, she oversaw all human resources strategies and operations for multiple local Telemundo stations in Texas and Southwest Region. The local stations included Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, McAllen, San Antonio, Sacramento, Fresno, Salt Lake City, Denver, and Las Vegas.

Olga holds a bachelor’s degree in Legal Studies and Sociology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a Master’s degree in Human Resources and Labor Relations from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. She most recently completed the Corporate Executive Development Program at Southern Methodist University, Cox School of Business.


Osvaldo “Ozzie” Martínez

Launching and Growing Your Media Career Panelist

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Martínez is the Senior Vice President of News and Standards for the Telemundo Station Group, a division of NBCUniversal Local, which includes 31 local Telemundo stations in the United States and Puerto Rico.

In his role, Martínez works with the local Telemundo station News Directors to enhance stations’ local multiplatform news operations, strategy, and talent development.

Martínez also manages the Telemundo Station Group’s news bureaus located in Miami, Washington, D.C., and Mexico, which provide daily news and information to all Telemundo-owned and affiliate stations across the country. As the head of Standards, Martínez also ensures that all local newsrooms are operating with the highest standards of journalistic integrity. Martínez managed the launch of “Telemundo Responde,” a consumer investigative unit that is charged with standing up for consumers who have been wronged across 20 markets. Since first launching across Telemundo stations in 2014, the consumer units have expanded to NBC-owned markets and collectively, both NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ consumer units have recovered more than $30 million for consumers.

Noticing a need to create a professional pipeline for bilingual and Spanish-language local TV and digital journalists, Martínez also created “Telemundo University,” a hands-on training program for undergraduate journalism students who want to serve bilingual audiences through careers in local broadcasting. The program launched in 2018 in partnership with the University of Florida and University of Texas-Arlington, and provides college students with real-world skills they need to succeed in TV newsrooms.

Before joining the Telemundo Station Group, Martínez worked for NBC 4 New York / WNBC from 2008 to 2014 in various roles with increasing responsibility, including Assistant News Director. Before this, he worked as an Executive Producer for CBS 4 South Florida / WFOR and Fox 7 / WSVN in Miami. Martínez began his broadcast and television career at WSVN, where he became one of the youngest Executive Producers in the country and managed the station’s four-hour morning show newscast.  

Martínez is an eight-time Emmy® award-winning journalist. He also holds six Murrow Awards and, in 2012, he was honored by El Diario La Prensa with an “EL Award.” Martínez earned a bachelor’s degree in Communications and English, Broadcast Journalism from the University of Miami. He resides in Miami, Florida.


Jeff Schlesser

Launching and Growing Your Media Career Panelist

Jeff Schlesser is the News Director at WWSB-TV, the Gray-Owned ABC Affiliate in Sarasota. Over the course of the past year and a half, Jeff has helped the News Department grow into a digital-first, producer-driven newsroom. He remains focused on building people, product, and culture. Most recently Jeff spent five years as News Director at Gray’s CBS Affiliate, WCTV-TV, covering North Florida and South Georgia, where he helped maintain that station’s dominance in the market while growing the on-air and online products. Under Jeff’s leadership, the station modernized, launching a new newsroom, new studio, a new set, new graphics, and workflows to support these enhancements. Jeff’s team in Tallahassee earned two NAB Leadership Foundation Service to America Awards and was twice named Station of the Year by the Florida Broadcasters (formerly the FL Associated Press Awards). Jeff grew up in the Chicago Suburbs and has worked in multiple markets in Wisconsin as a Reporter and Producer. Jeff spent several years in Special Projects with the FOX O&O group in Milwaukee WI, and Tampa, FL. He is a graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.


Anzio Williams

Launching and Growing Your Media Career Panelist

Anzio Williams is the Senior Vice President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the NBCUniversal Local, NBCUniversal’s division that is home to three local media groups: NBC Owned Television Stations, NBC Sports Regional Networks, and the Telemundo Station Group, as well as multicast networks COZI TV, NBCLX, and TeleXitos. Together, the media groups and networks deliver the very best in local sports, news, weather, consumer and investigative reporting, and lifestyle entertainment to English and Spanish speakers across any platform and screen.

At NBCUniversal Local, Williams is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy that will make diversity and inclusion a top priority across the division. Before this, Williams was Vice President of News for NBC10 / WCAU and Telemundo 62 / WWSI for eight years. 

A respected broadcast professional with 27 years of experience, Williams has worked at TV stations across the country and held numerous leadership roles with increasing responsibility all the while mentoring and coaching colleagues and journalists to help them advance in their careers. As Vice President of News for NBCUniversal’s Philadelphia stations, Williams played a key role in the stations’ successful move to their new state-of-the-art facility located within the Comcast Technology Center. He also spearheaded the integration and launch of WWSI, the Telemundo-owned station that has ranked as Philadelphia’s #1 most-watched Spanish-language TV station for local news among key demo groups for many years. At WCAU/WWSI, he’s managed the news teams’ coverage for the most impactful stories including the 2020 protests for social justice, the Eagle’s 2018 Superbowl win, the deadly Amtrak derailment, Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia, and Hurricane Sandy’s devastation and recovery efforts, among others. 

Prior to joining NBCUniversal, he spent 12 years with Hearst Television working as News Director at KCRA in Sacramento and WDSU in New Orleans. At WDSU, he spearheaded the station’s coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the storm’s aftermath, and multi-year recovery efforts. Before this, he worked as Assistant News Director at NBC affiliate stations in Orlando, Florida, and Charlotte, North Carolina. At WESH, he managed the team’s coverage for the biggest hurricane season in Florida while at WCNC he directed the team’s reporting on the Columbia Shuttle disaster. Before this, he oversaw newscasts and special sports programming for WLWT in Cincinnati and managed weekend news coverage at WSVN in Miami. He launched his career in broadcast as a Sports and News Producer for WFMY in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

A recipient of nine Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement, Best Newscast, Breaking News, and Continuing Coverage, he was a member of news teams honored with six Edward R. Murrow and two George Foster Peabody Awards.