Puerto Rican journalist
Lilia Luciano
(born October 12, 1984) is a Puerto Rican journalist, filmmaker, podcaster and public speaker. She is currently a national correspondent and anchor at
CBS News
based in
New York
[1]
and host of the
iHeart Radio
podcast, El Flow.
[2]
Before
CBS News
she worked as the investigative reporter at ABC 10 in
Sacramento
[3]
and was the chief investigative correspondent on
Discovery Channel
's Border Live.
[4]
Her coverage of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas earned her and her
CBS News
team an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Breaking News Coverage in 2023.
[5]
In 2019, she was awarded a
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism
as a special commendation for enterprise for her four-part documentary series, Puerto Rico Rises, which she directed and produced for ABC Sacramento, a
TEGNA
station.
[6]
She has also won five Regional Emmy Awards.
[7]
In 2018, her coverage of the Northern California Wildfires of 2018 received a regional
Edward R. Murrow Award
for Continuous Coverage.
[8]
Luciano has won four Regional
Emmy Awards
. In 2019, she won the Emmy for her special TEGNA series "Crisis at the Border," and for her team's coverage of the Northern California Wildfires.
[9]
In 2018, she won for California Wildfires coverage and for her documentary Puerto Rico Rises.
[10]
In 2013, Luciano was also awarded
GLAAD's
Outstanding Digital Journalism Article
media award for her coverage of homophobia in U.S. Hispanic media.
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
Before CBS News Luciano worked as investigative reporter at ABC 10 in Sacramento, California.
[15]
She is the director and producer of
Wars of Others
, an
HBO
Latino documentary film about the consequences of the U.S. War on Drugs on Colombian farmers
[16]
and the founder of CoInspire, an interview series about entrepreneurship in partnership with Rokk3r Labs.
[17]
She has worked as a host and contributor at various
Vice
platforms in English and Spanish.
[18]
[19]
Previously, she worked as a national news correspondent for
NBC News
's
The Today Show
,
Nightly News
with
Brian Williams
and
MSNBC
.
[20]
She is a TEDx speaker
[21]
and contributing columnist for
HuffPost
writing both in English and Spanish about issues concerning the Hispanic community,
[22]
the War on Drugs
[23]
and Human Rights.
[24]
She servers the advisory council
[25]
of
United Nations Foundation
's Girl Up initiative. She has served as a moderator at the Oslo Freedom Forum Human Rights conferences since 2016.
[26]
Journalism
[
edit
]
As a Los Angeles based correspondent at
CBS News
, Luciano has led the network's coverage of California
[27]
and Oregon wildfires,
[28]
BLM protests in Portland,
[29]
immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border,
[30]
the deadly crowd surge at
Travis Scott
's
Astroworld
festival,
[31]
she covered the historic 2021 tornadoes in Kentucky,
[32]
the oil spill in Southern California,
[33]
among other national breaking news stories. Some of her feature stories include interviews with EGOT winner Rita Moreno,
[34]
basketball legend Magic Johnson,
[35]
and Oscar-winning director Jimmy Chin
[36]
for CBS Mornings and CBS Sunday Morning.
Luciano also produced and hosted Fighting for Paradise: The Future of Puerto Rico, a CBS News documentary streaming on Paramount Plus and CBSN.
[37]
As an investigative reporter at
ABC 10
, Luciano has uncovered patterns of corruption in family court through an ongoing multipart series.
[38]
She has run investigations on sex trafficking,
[39]
low teacher diversity,
[40]
campaign financing,
[41]
police shootings, including daily coverage of the shooting of
Stephon Clark
in 2018.
[42]
Her HBO documentary film, released in 2016 uncovers the social, environmental and health impacts of aerial spraying in Colombia.
[43]
[44]
As a VICE News host, she investigated the oil and gas industry's impact on Louisiana's loss of coastal land.
[45]
[46]
At VICELAND's Black Market Dispatches, Luciano embedded with a caravan of gasoline smugglers, hiding in a racing car filled with 400 gallons of contraband gasoline.
[47]
Recognition
[
edit
]
In 2018, Luciano was awarded a National Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism for her Documentary Puerto Rico Rises.,
[48]
as well as a Regional Edward R Murrow Award for Continuous Coverage of the Northern California Wildfires.
[8]
Luciano has earned 5 Northern California Emmys. The stories nominated include coverage of immigration, asylum seekers, the California homeless crisis, California Wildfires and her documentary about colonialism and
Hurricane Maria
in Puerto Rico.
[10]
[7]
Education
[
edit
]
Born in
San Juan, Puerto Rico
, Luciano attended
Tufts University
in
Massachusetts
to study
pre-medicine
. In 2003, she transferred to the
University of Miami
; she graduated in 2007 with a bachelor's degree in economics and
broadcast journalism
.
Early years
[
edit
]
While at the
University of Miami
, Luciano interned with
Telemundo
, where she produced and anchored a finance and economics segment for
Telemundo Internacional
. After graduating from The University of Miami, Luciano was hired by
Univision
Networks as correspondent and co-anchor for evening newscast En Vivo y Directo.
Television
[
edit
]
She was a chief investigative correspondent for
Discovery Channel
's Border Live show, embedding in communities, and with border enforcement agencies along the U.S.-Mexico border.
[49]
She was also TEGNA-owned ABC 10's investigative reporter, a position that earned her regional and national awards in journalism.
[9]
She investigated politics,
[50]
crime,
[51]
family court,
[52]
immigration,
[53]
housing,
[54]
education,
[55]
homelessness,
[56]
police shootings, drug policy, wildfires, and other climate disasters, including an award-winning documentary about Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.
[48]
Luciano directed Guerras Ajenas, an
HBO
Latin America Documentary about the consequences of U.S. drug policy in Colombia.
[43]
She also worked as a host for multiple Vice platforms, including Viceland's World of Sports,
[57]
Black Market Dispatches
[58]
and Vice News.
[59]
Luciano joined
NBC News
in December 2010 from
Univision
network where she served as co-host of a live daily program and as a correspondent for the top-rated show
Aqui y Ahora
.
[60]
Previously, she was a co-host from 2006 to 2010 at
Escandalo TV
(Scandal TV), a spicy Spanish gossip show at
TeleFutura
Network.
In August 2011, Lilia Luciano covered
Hurricane Irene
from
Nassau, Bahamas
for
NBC
's Nightly News with
Brian Williams
,
Today Show
,
MSNBC
,
The Weather Channel
,
CNBC
and
Telemundo
. She went on to cover the storm's trail of devastation in
North Carolina
.
[61]
During the summer of 2011 Luciano covered the
Casey Anthony
first degree murder trial in Orlando, Florida for
MSNBC
and the
Today Show
. Luciano reported live from the Orange County courthouse throughout the six-week trial. At midnight on July 17, she gave a special breaking news report on MSNBC to announce Anthony's release from prison.
[62]
In January 2012, Luciano was the only national correspondent from the major networks covering the murder trial of
Joran Van der Sloot
in
Lima, Peru
for both
Today Show
, and
Telemundo
, obtaining exclusive interviews with the victim's family and government authorities in
Lima
.
[63]
[64]
[65]
On February 22, 2012, Luciano reported for
Today
, MSNBC and
Comcast Sports
on the first degree murder trial of
University of Virginia
Lacrosse
captain George Huguely, convicted in the death of his girlfriend Yeardly Love.
[66]
Luciano was one of the national television reporters on the scene in
Sanford, Florida
covering the
Trayvon Martin
story.
[67]
[68]
On May 2, 2012, it was announced that Luciano was no longer at NBC News, after it was found that the audio portion of
George Zimmerman's
9-1-1
call, reporting a potential burglary, was edited in a manner that made Zimmerman sound racist by making an unprompted statement that Martin was black instead of answering the 911 dispatcher's questions. NBC dismissed the producer responsible for editing the piece and also dismissed Luciano for the oversight.
[69]
[70]
All of Luciano's reports on the Trayvon Martin story which contained the misleading edit were removed from the
Today
website.
[71]
NBC News president Steve Capus told Reuters that the edit, made by a Miami-based producer, was "a mistake and not a deliberate act to misrepresent the phone call." The network claimed that it was done in order to meet a maximum time requirement for the piece, a common pressure in morning television. The producer was subsequently fired and NBC News apologized for the error, though not on the air, stating it was an "editing error in the production process."
[69]
On December 6, 2012, Luciano was named as a defendant in a defamation lawsuit filed against NBC by George Zimmerman regarding their erroneous edit and airing of his 911 call to advance a false narrative.
[72]
Zimmerman's criminal trial
concluded with a "not guilty"
jury
verdict
and
acquittal
on July 13, 2013, allowing his lawsuit to proceed.
[73]
Zimmerman's lawsuit against NBC and his subsequent appeal were both dismissed in Florida courts.
[74]
Non-profit work
[
edit
]
Since 2013, Luciano has served on the Advisory Board of the United Nations Foundation Girl Up Campaign.
[75]
She is a Today I am Brave Speaker series.
[76]
In 2010, she served as spokesperson to the
Univision
and
Bill Gates
Foundation's Education Campaign, "Es El Momento", as well as a supporter and collaborator with
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
, and Walk Now for Autism.
[77]
Feature Documentaries
[
edit
]
Luciano is the director and producer of Guerras Ajenas, the first documentary film by HBO Latinoamerica.
[43]
Other facts
[
edit
]
In 2009,
People en Espanol
selected Luciano in their 50 Most Beautiful people issue.
[78]
[79]
In 2010,
Cosmopolitan Magazine
featured Luciano on their November 2010 cover.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Lilia Luciano Named CBS News Correspondent in Los Angeles"
. May 28, 2021.
- ^
"Podcast Spotlight: Looking for a New Show to Listen To? Here's What's New in Podcasts This Week!"
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano"
.
KXTV
.
- ^
Petski, Denise (November 2, 2018).
"Discovery Greenlights 'Border Live' Reality Show Set At U.S.-Mexico Border"
.
- ^
"The 44th News & Documentary Nominations ? The Emmys"
.
theemmys.tv
. July 27, 2023
. Retrieved
August 15,
2023
.
- ^
Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Television Political Journalism
- ^
a
b
https://emmysf.tv/files/2020/06/Emmy20-Recipient-Press-Release.pdf
[
bare URL PDF
]
- ^
a
b
"Murrow Award Confirms ABC10's Commitment to Sonoma Wildfire Victims"
.
KXTV
. April 26, 2018.
- ^
a
b
https://emmysf.tv/files/2019/06/Emmy-2019-Recipient-Press-Release.pdf
[
bare URL PDF
]
- ^
a
b
"47th Annual NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA EMMY® AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED"
(PDF)
.
Emmy 2018
. May 29, 2018.
- ^
"
'Smash,' 'Amazing Race' Win GLAAD Awards"
.
The Hollywood Reporter
. March 16, 2013
. Retrieved
August 31,
2019
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano Gana Premio GLAAD Blog Tolerancia"
.
Huffington Post
. March 17, 2013.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano Defended Human Rights As Speaker In "SIME"
"
.
LatinWe
. August 7, 2015.
- ^
"Nexus Global Youth Summit, Nexus Program Brief"
(PDF)
. New York. July 22, 2015. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on July 25, 2015
. Retrieved
December 31,
2015
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano"
.
ABC10 KXTV
. May 4, 2017.
- ^
"Premiere of Wars of Others, First HBO Documentary Completely Filmed in Colombia"
.
Proimagenes Colombia
. July 25, 2017.
Elizabeth Gray and Lilia Luciano were producers for LatinWE
- ^
"Rokk3r Labs, journalist Lilia Luciano launch Coinspire, a video series with groundbreaking entrepreneurs"
.
The Starting Gate
. Miami Herald. August 7, 2015.
- ^
"Lo ultimo de Lilia Lucianoe"
.
Vice News
. 2015.
- ^
Luciano, Lilia (August 29, 2015).
"Oil And Water, Louisiana's Coastal Crisis"
(Video)
.
YouTube
. Vice News.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano Joins NBC News as Miami-Based Correspondent"
.
NBC Press release
. NBCUniversal. October 11, 2010. Archived from
the original
on March 11, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
"Ponentes TEDxManagua 2013"
.
TEDxManagua
. June 9, 2013.
- ^
"Operacion Tolerancia: la lucha contra la homofobia en los Medios Hispanos"
.
The Huffington Post
. December 10, 2012.
- ^
"Wars of Others"
.
The Huffington Post
. December 5, 2012.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano bio"
.
The Huffington Post
.
- ^
"Advisory Board - Girl Up"
.
Girl Up
. Retrieved
August 7,
2015
.
- ^
"2017 Oslo Freedom Forum Recap"
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
"No containment in sight as destruction grows from Western wildfires"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
"Oregon governor calls raging wildfires "once in a generation event" as blazes tear through Western states"
.
CBS News
. September 10, 2020.
- ^
"Portland readies for 100th night of protests"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
"Asylum seekers released in Arizona town"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/operations-plan-filed-for-deadly-astroworld-concert-raises-safety-questions/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
[
dead link
]
- ^
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tornado-victims-in-hard-hit-hopkins-county-kentucky-remembered-including-2-month-old-baby/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Crews work to restore Huntington Beach as investigation into California oil leak continues"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
"How Television Networks Are Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month in 2021"
. September 23, 2021.
- ^
"Magic Johnson on unvaccinated players: "I would never do that to my teammates"
"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
"Climber-filmmaker Jimmy Chin: Living life on the edge"
.
CBS News
. November 14, 2021.
- ^
"CBS Reports | Fighting for Paradise: Puerto Rico's Future"
.
CBS News
.
- ^
"CPPA December 2017 Newsletter"
.
myemail.constantcontact.com
.
- ^
"Selling Girls: Sex trafficking is happening in our own backyard"
.
KXTV
. January 30, 2018.
- ^
"Teachers of color: Student diversity is up but not educators"
.
KXTV
. February 23, 2017.
- ^
"The Politics of Policing: How powerful is campaign funding in wake of Stephon Clark shooting?"
.
KXTV
. April 11, 2018.
- ^
"Stephon Clark funeral: The Al Sharpton Effect"
.
KXTV
. March 29, 2018.
- ^
a
b
c
"Watch Guerras ajenas | Prime Video"
.
Amazon
.
- ^
"Guerras Ajenas"
– via www.imdb.com.
- ^
"Oil And Water: Louisiana's Coastal Crisis"
.
VICE News
. August 31, 2015.
- ^
"Louisiana's Coastal Crisis: Oil And Water"
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
"Kamikaze Gas Smugglers - BLACK MARKET: DISPATCHES (Trailer)"
– via www.youtube.com.
- ^
a
b
"Cronkite award winners prove facts matter"
.
annenberg.usc.edu
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano - Border LIVE Cast"
.
Discovery
.
- ^
"Are paint giants sticking California taxpayers with the bill?"
.
abc10.com
. June 15, 2018.
- ^
"An innocent man framed by the Golden State Killer?"
.
abc10.com
. October 19, 2019.
- ^
"The problem with family court"
.
abc10.com
. May 10, 2018.
- ^
"Immigration at the Border: This is catch and release"
.
ktvb.com
. July 10, 2018.
- ^
"Housing crisis: California Legislators overpromise but under-deliver"
.
abc10.com
. June 14, 2019.
- ^
"Teachers of color: Student diversity is up but not educators"
.
abc10.com
. February 23, 2017.
- ^
"Homeless in Sacramento: What you need to know"
.
abc10.com
. February 28, 2019.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano | TV Guide"
.
TVGuide.com
.
- ^
"How a Kamikaze Smuggles Gas"
(video)
. Viceland – via YouTube.
- ^
"Louisiana's Coastal Crisis: Oil And Water"
(video)
. Vice News – via YouTube.
- ^
Ariens, Chris (June 21, 2011).
"Telemundo Anchor crosses over on MSNBC"
.
TVNewser
. WebMediaBrands, Inc
. Retrieved
June 20,
2012
.
- ^
"Trees and reporter rocked by Irene winds video"
.
MSNBC
. NBC. August 25, 2011. Archived from
the original
on May 11, 2017
. Retrieved
June 20,
2012
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano MSNBC Casey Anthony video report"
.
YouTube
. July 16, 2011
. Retrieved
June 27,
2013
.
- ^
"Mas de 70 periodistas extranjeros cubren en Lima el caso Van der Sloot"
.
ElComercio.pe
. Lima, Peru. January 6, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
"Reporter's Notebook: Lilia Luciano on Joran Van der Sloot Trial in Peru"
.
NBC Latino
. Miami. January 9, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
"Murder trial begins for Van der Sloot video report"
.
NBC Today show
. January 6, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Lilia Luciano of NBC News reports on the George Huguely conviction"
.
NBC Today Show
. NBC News. February 22, 2012
. Retrieved
June 29,
2012
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano report on Trayvon Martin, Mar 20"
.
NBC Today Show
. Youtube.com. March 20, 2012
. Retrieved
June 29,
2012
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano report on Trayvon Martin, Mar 22"
.
NBC Today Show
. Youtube. March 22, 2012
. Retrieved
June 29,
2012
.
- ^
a
b
Carr, David (April 22, 2012).
"TV Corrects Itself, Just Not on the Air"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
April 18,
2014
.
- ^
Ariens, Chris (May 2, 2012).
"Another Misleading Edit Costs Another NBC News Employee Her Job"
.
TVNewser.com
. Archived from
the original
on May 4, 2012
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
Mirkinson, Jack (May 3, 2012).
"Lilia Luciano Fired By NBC News Over Botched George Zimmerman Edit"
.
The Huffington Post
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
Martinez, Michael (December 6, 2012).
"George Zimmerman sues NBC Universal over edited 911 call"
.
CNN.com
. Retrieved
December 6,
2012
.
- ^
Johnson, Ted (July 13, 2013).
"How Will "Not Guilty" Verdict Affect George Zimmerman's Libel Suit Against NBC"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
July 14,
2013
.
- ^
Cherney, Elyssa (December 2, 2015).
"George Zimmerman's suit against NBC Universal tossed ? again"
.
Orlando Sentinel
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano"
.
- ^
"Today, I'm Brave Speaker Series - Lilia Luciano"
– via www.facebook.com.
- ^
"Univision's "Es el Momento" Educational Initiative video featuring Lilia Luciano"
.
M.A.S.,Entertainment News from English and Spanish sources
. March 29, 2011. Archived from
the original
on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
May 3,
2012
.
- ^
"Lilia Luciano en la Portada de People en Espanol"
. LatinGossip.com. Archived from
the original
on April 9, 2008
. Retrieved
January 4,
2009
.
- ^
"People En Espanol's "50 Most Beautiful", Lilia Luciano"
.
Zimbo
.
People en Espanol
. May 13, 2009.
External links
[
edit
]