We often refer to those in the media as “activists” that inhabit the journalistic profession and bring their activism to our airwaves. But what if we told you that Telemundo put an actual, literal climate activist behind their anchor desk? Meet Vanessa Hauc.
Watch as Hauc (rhymes with “hawk” but the H is silent) makes an impassioned call to action on climate: “It is time to act, to deal with this climate emergency without hesitation, meaning, with full force and full direction.”
FELICIDAD AVELEYRA: Vanessa, for me, there is no issue in the world more relevant than this one.
VANESSA HAUC: I agree Felicidad, but it is important to put this into context and understand that, even if the situation of our planet seems serious at the moment, there is hope and we have the resources, we have the technology and above all, the will of the people to act.
…
Of course. But the important thing is that we have everything (in place) to do it, right? It is time to act in the face of this climate emergency, without hesitation, meaning, with full force and full direction.
Hauc, Telemundo’s weekend anchor and senior correspondent on environmental issues also happens to chair her very own climate activism non-profit, Sachamama or “Mother Jungle”, a 501(c)(3) which claims as their mission that “Grounded in our cultural heritage, we work to build support for a clean energy economy for…” before running out of space on their IRS form 990 for 2019 that appears to have been filed after the 2020 election.
Sachamama initially registered as a Florida non-profit in 2013, with Hauc reflected as a Director both at inception and in subsequent filings. IRS records show that Sachamama is registered as a 501(c)(3). Hauc (under the name Vanessa Zegarra) is listed as a non-compensated Director in 2018, and as the organization’s chairperson for their 2019 report.
This nugget appeared in section 4 of their 2019 IRS-990, where they list the programs they carried out that year:
We launched a national campaign “#QueNoTeValgaLaMadreTierra”, which run for a full month in Telemundo network and affiliates and was created in partnership with high-profile influencers. This campaign focused on demystifying the idea that sustainable living is expensive, for this purpose we created a series of five PSAS with an impact of over 9M impressions. In Florida, we launched “KeepFloridaHealthy”, a three-month effort to mobilize Floridians around issues of health and climate change in the state. The digital campaign - in partnership with VOLO Foundation - run five PSAS in social media with an overall impact of 1.85M impressions in Florida.
In short, Hauc (under the guise of her climate activist organization), provided Telemundo with content, engaged in a political campaign, and continued to report on the issue for which she advocates without anyone ever disclosing her advocacy to viewers, whether Hauc or the network that employs her.
Lest there remain any doubt that Hauc’s climate coverage is political, consider this quote highlighted by Front Page Live in a piece titled “6 reasons to be hopeful about global warming- if you vote for the climate this November”:
I promise my son, with a pinky promise, I will choose those candidates that will protect our planet.
Hauc won’t just choose those “candidates that will protect our planet”, but she’ll also advocate for their climate policies on Telemundo airwaves.
In the three days leading up to this year’s “Earth Day” (4/22), Telemundo gave Hauc a full 23 minutes and 53 seconds, a virtual blank check, to engage in overt climate activism on all three of the network’s news programs: morning kaffeeklatsch Hoy Día, midday newscast Noticias Mediodía, and on primetime Noticias Telemundo. Naked activism was broadcast over the airwaves and laundered as “investigative news” for her Planeta Tierra (Planet Earth) segment.
Imagine, for a second, that CNN were to hire Gabrielle Giffords as both a news anchor and special correspondent for “gun safety”, and you begin to grasp Telemundo’s stunning conflict and betrayal of their viewers. We often speak out against activism disguised as journalism, but Telemundo has gone off and hired an actual activist to perform the duty of a journalist. Telemundo’s viewers deserve better.
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