Carlos D. Ramirez (August 19, 1946 – July 11, 1999) was an American
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
who purchased ''
El Diario La Prensa
''El Diario Nueva York'' is the largest and the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-in ...
'' — the oldest
Spanish-language
Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...
newspaper in the United States — from the
Gannett Company
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.[San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...]
, and grew up in
Corona, Queens
Corona is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hills and Rego Park to the south, Elmhurst to the southwest, and East ...
. He attended
Baruch College
Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...
, where he graduated with a degree in accounting and finance, and was hired by ''El Diario La Prensa'' in 1981 as its comptroller. The Gannett Company had just bought the paper in a deal valued at $10 million. Ramirez worked his way up to serve as the paper's publisher and president.
[Ravo, Nick]
"Carlos D. Ramirez, 52, Publisher of El Diario"
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', July 13, 1999. Accessed October 9, 2009.
''El Diario La Prensa''
''El Diario La Prensa'', the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, was formed in 1968, the result of a merger of ''La Prensa'', founded in 1913 for immigrants from Spain, and ''El Diario'' which started publishing in 1948 for the
Puerto Rican community in New York City.
[
Ramirez and his investment group El Diario Associates purchased the paper in 1989 from Gannett for a price just over $20 million. The paper had been unprofitable for as three years and circulation had declined from a peak of 80,000 to under 70,000. In the early 1960s, the paper sold an average of 100,000 copies per day.][
With the addition of new technology and improved journalism, Ramirez was able to increase circulation to 68,000 by the time of his death in 1999 and to return the paper to profitability. Under his leadership, the paper won as Best Hispanic Daily from the National Hispanic Publishers Association.][
El Diario Associates joined in 1995 with Latin Communications Group, a firm that operates 18 radio stations, with Ramirez running the business's print division and serving on the board.
]
Death
A resident of City Island, Bronx
City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately long by wide. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay and east o ...
, Ramirez died at age 52 on July 11, 1999 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...
in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
.[via '']Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
''
"Carlos D. Ramirez, La Prensa Publisher"
''Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'', July 13, 1999. Accessed October 9, 2009. Divorced at the time of his death, he was survived by his fiancée, Pamela Merlo-Balfour, as well as by a daughter Christine, a son David and a granddaughter Angelica Gonzalez.[
]
See also
* List of Puerto Ricans
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Carlos D.
1946 births
1999 deaths
20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)
Publishers (people) of Spanish-language newspapers in the United States
Baruch College alumni
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
People from City Island, Bronx
People from Corona, Queens
People from San Juan, Puerto Rico