Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Jose Ramirez Braiz.
Hi Maria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Losing a job in California is what brought me here. I was working for the NTN24 network as a correspondent in the United States and one day I lost my job.
I was still very new to this country and the possibility of entering the U.S. journalism market was not an immediate option. I stepped into the Hispanic market in California and didn’t like it, so I decided to create my own media organization and start working for it. In 2012, with just a Facebook page, Te Lo Cuento News was born.
The first thing I did was calling some journalists who I knew were as dissatisfied as I was with the journalism they were doing, or who had simply been forced to stop doing what they loved the most.
That little page was the step that helped us get to where we are today, with more than 500K followers worldwide in all our social media platforms, 120 journalists who are in at least 20 countries
That effort was recognized in 2018 by the Inter-American Press Association, which gave us an Honorary Mention during that year’s awards.
In 2020 and looking at the pandemic we realized that the Global work we do could be useful for Latinos in the areas where we have volunteers and that they can contribute to us doing local journalism.
We realized that in the U.S. Hispanic markets there are not many media outlets dedicated 100% to 24/7 news.
We contacted local talent in different parts of the country, checked our alliances with other media outlets and the capabilities we had to offer not only local but also international stories.
By doing this, we seek to inform Latinos about what is happening locally, but also in their home countries. We are currently in Kansas City, St. Joseph, Tampa, and Venezuela, in addition to our international offerings.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Many people, when they see where I am, call it luck. I came to this country alone, I had no family or even 1 friend in the city I chose to live, I did not speak any English nor did I understand how this country works. When I started Te Lo Cuento News, my English was still very basic, I made an effort to learn it and I continue learning every day. I did not rest until I advanced in the goals. This is not only luck, there are many things that can be difficult in this path, having two and three jobs at the same time to achieve the goal can be another example of these difficulties.
The lack of knowledge, when I began with the project and I did not have very much idea of how far it was going to go and I did not know everything I should know. If perhaps I had known all that was awaiting me, I would never have undertaken it.
Many hours without sleep, even today there are days that I start working at 8 in the morning and I do not finish until 3 am the next day.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Te Lo Cuento New is a digital media outlet which was born as a personal project and is currently part of a community. It is a 100 percent independent media and where journalism work. is different from what you may see in many other media nowadays, which openly mixes opinion with journalism.
For us, reporting is a priority. We are skilled in being able to develop live coverage of news events through the famous live videos or by the speed, in which we respond, we are also now pioneers in live audio transmissions that are and will continue to be a trend this year and in 2022.
I’m looking around, but if I have to put a title on it it’s because I’m a leader, a motivator, and a mentor to journalists. I love being able to teach them to glow, I really like to give them opportunities to grow and develop.
What sets you apart from others?
Ethics, I don’t think the media should be an advertising machine just because they have to sell and that’s it, in my case and in the case of our team if someone comes and tells us they want to have an advertisement with us, if we know it doesn’t work for them, we let them know immediately. We prefer with these types of clients to work on real strategies that will make them succeed even if that includes not publishing with us.
What are you most proud brand-wise?
There are a lot of things I’m very proud of at Te Lo Cuento News, I’m going to try to list a few.
Having a team and managing it effectively is something that for any leader is an accomplishment, but if you have that team, you know you have it at effective times and also a porcent of our team is made up of volunteers, it’s just wonderful.
Demonstrating that you can have a successful project without having an office and that remote work can be successful is quite an accomplishment. Back in 2012, when we started, it was something that was hard to understand. Today it is real and we are pioneers in it, our team is being trained to work remotely with no problems.
What do you want our readers to know about your brand, offer, services, etc.?
We are here in Kansas City to add to the supply of Latino media that exists, our way of doing it is different from the others because we do not depend on any affiliate to make decisions about the content, we do not rely only on showing brands or services of producers. We want to go beyond and make people decide but with coherence. We are the only media that is dedicated 24 hours a day to providing news and that not only reports on local issues, we can also report on what is happening in their countries of origin in the case of Latinos and in the case of Americans, we are the opportunity for them to know what is happening abroad.
Our services for advertisers include advice for the creation and management of digital marketing strategies that help their brands to grow not only by advertising with us, but with all the digital environment that exists, which is becoming more and more complicated every day.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Our address www.telocuentonews.com
Facebook Te Lo Cuento News (International)
Facebook Te Lo Cuento News Kansas City
IG Te LO Cuento News (International)
IG Te LO Cuento News Kansas City
Contact Info:
- Email: mariaramirez@telocuentonews.com
- Website: www.telocuentonews.com
- Instagram: @Majonews1
- Facebook: wwww.facebook.com/majotlcn
- Twitter: @majonews1
- Other: https://www.clubhouse.com/@majonews1
