The Bible says that “as a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly” (Proverbs 26:11). Multiple sources tell us that Univision has returned to its vomit, rehiring Daniel Coronell as President of News after his tumultuous exit a little over two years ago.
Coronell’s initial departure from Univision was announced along with Televisa’s takeover. As we reported at the time:
As part of a major shakeup announced on July 19th, Univision announced the removal of President of News Daniel Coronell, longtime wingman to Isaac Lee, as well as his replacement by longtime Televisa executive Leopoldo Gómez. As head of Univision News, Coronell continued to both implement the activist model instituted by Isaac Lee and indulge Jorge Ramos’ excesses.
Although Gómez made some important changes before leaving in July, he was ultimately unable to enact the sort of reforms that would restore Univision News’ shattered credibility. Univision had an internal option, EVP of News María Martínez Guzmán, but decided to ask Coronell to come back.
Some of Univision’s infamies on Coronell’s watch include:
- Active collaboration with the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign
- Undisclosed use of Joe Biden’s pollster in 2020
- The defamatory reporting accusing Marco Rubio of being an unindicted drug trafficker
The closest comparison would be the return of Jeff Zucker to CNN, but this would be an grievous insult to Jeff Zucker. If you can imagine it, Daniel Coronell's tenure was far more damaging to Univision's credibility -by degrees of magnitude- than Jeff Zucker's was to CNN's.
The return of Coronell ahead of the 2024 presidential election is a return to the unhinged activist model of news “reporting” that led to Univision’s reputation as a de facto propaganda arm of the Democratic party. The hire is, perhaps, also a testament to the internal corporate turmoil at TelevisaUnivision, wherein the guy they ran out of town is brought back as the replacement to the chosen reformer. Is this the sign of a turf war between factions in Mexico City and in Miami? Time will tell.
Based on this choice of key personnel, candidates participating in the September 23rd GOP primary debate at the Reagan Library would be within their right to question whether Univision can (or should) moderate the event. Either way, the return of Coronell to Univision is not good news. Viewers can expect more disinformation, and more over-the-top leftwing propaganda disguised as news.
