Carmen Jovet Esteves (born June 9, 1944) is a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

and the first Puerto Rican woman news anchor in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

Early years

Carmen Jovet Esteves, daughter of Manolín Jovet-Viruet and Doña Carmen "Cuca" Esteves, was born and raised in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is a city and the eighth-largest municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez, and is also known as ''La Sultana del Oeste'' (The Sultaness of the West), ''Ciudad de las Aguas Pura ...

into a family where having a good education was important. She was considered a gifted child and quickly advanced in school. She started making speeches when she was 6 years old, first appeared on radio at the age of 7 with radio personality Pedro Ojeda on WPRA-AM in Mayagüez, and by time she was 12, she was a competent

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

. She enjoyed participating in her school's extracurricular activities. She was a member of various academic groups including the school's drama club. Jovet graduated from

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

when she was 14 years old and enrolled in the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico ( es, Universidad de Puerto Rico, UPR) is the main public university system in the U.S. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. It is a government-owned corporation with 11 campuses and approximately 58,000 students and 5,3 ...

on a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

. When she was 17, she graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Career

Jovet's first job was at "''WIPR''" Channel 6, where she hosted a program called "Club Seis" and later a program called "Fabrica del Arte". In 1968, Jovet caught the attention of Leopoldo Santiago Lavandero, who invited her to join his production "''Panorama Mundial''" as a reporter, at the same Channel. A few years later she was offered the position of anchor for "''El Once en la Noticias''" at Channel 11 and thus became the first Puerto Rican woman news anchor on the island. In 1975, Jovet founded her own independent production company and became the host of a show which investigated and interviewed public figures. Among those interviewed was the President of

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Carlos Andrés Pérez Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez (27 October 1922 – 25 December 2010) also known as CAP and often referred to as '' El Gocho'' (due to his Andean origins), was a Venezuelan politician and the president of Venezuela from 12 March 1974 to 12 M ...

. She also covered the arrest of Puerto Rican actress

Lydia Echevarría Lydia Echevarría (born October 14, 1931 in Caguas, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actress who was convicted of plotting the murder of her husband, Puerto Rican television show producer, Luis Vigoreaux. Early years Echevarría met producer Lu ...

. Jovet hosted the TV show ''Sabado en Grande'' (Big Saturday) for a short time before joining Channel 2, where she hosted her own show, "Carmen Jovet, Controversial", a talk show in which the public was encouraged to participate. In the 1980s, she hosted a daily television broadcast that followed the adjournment of the day's Puerto Rico Senate public hearing about the controversial Cerro Maravilla incidents on July 25, 1978. In 1987, The Governor of Puerto Rico

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

, named Jovet as the official coordinator in charge of the official state visit of the

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

and

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

of Spain. In 1992, she was named the Director of Communications of the Commission in charge of the 5th Centennial Celebration of the encounter of the Two Worlds. She was the host of a program called ''Ahora Podemos Hablar'', transmitted through

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Television and Streaming#NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a divi ...

TV.

Recognitions

Among the many recognitions bestowed upon her are: *The title of "Lady Television" by the Superior Council of Art; *The Order of Duarte Horsemen, Sanchez and Mella by the President of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Joaquín Balaguer Joaquín Antonio Balaguer Ricardo (1 September 1906 – 14 July 2002) was a Dominican politician, scholar, writer, and lawyer. He was President of the Dominican Republic serving three non-consecutive terms for that office from 1960 to 1962 ...

; *The

José de Diego José de Diego y Martínez (April 16, 1866 – July 16, 1918) was a statesman, journalist, poet, lawyer, and advocate for Puerto Rico's political autonomy in union with Spain and later of independence from the United States who was referred to by ...

Award from the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and *"Doctorate ''Honoris Causa''" in

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the Rehabilitation (penology), rehabilitation of o ...

from the

John Jay College of Criminal Justice The John Jay College of Criminal Justice (John Jay) is a public college focused on criminal justice and located in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY). John Jay was founded as the only liberal arts c ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. However, perhaps her greatest recognition is the fact that she's known universally in Puerto Rico as La Mujer Noticia.

Currently

Carmen Jovet is currently active as a radio commentator, hosting her own radio talk/news show on NotiUno radio network - 630AM from 10:00 AM until noon. Besides her career as a journalist, Jovet was an occasional actress and had a small role in the 1989 film '' Brenda Starr'' starring

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

. In the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated

Port-au-Prince, Haiti Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618 ...

, Puerto Rico, then-Governor

Luis Fortuño Luis Guillermo Fortuño Burset (born 31 October 1960) is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, from 2009 to 2013. Fortuño served as the first secretary of econom ...

asked her to coordinate a telethon to benefit the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

's Haitian relief efforts. The Telethon raised over $3.3 million. In preparation for the telethon, Jovet, along with Puerto Rico Secretary of State and

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Kenneth McClintock Kenneth Davison McClintock-Hernández (born January 19, 1957) is a politician who served as the twenty-second Secretary of State of Puerto Rico, one of the four longest serving in that post. McClintock served as co-chair of Hillary Clinton’s Na ...

, travelled to Haiti and met and interviewed then-President

René Préval René Garcia Préval (; 17 January 1943 – 3 March 2017) was a Haitian politician and agronomist who served twice as President of Haiti; once from early 1996 to early 2001, and again from mid 2006 to mid 2011. He was also Prime Minister from ...

, Prime Minister

Jean-Max Bellerive Jean-Max Bellerive (born 1958) is a Haitian politician and former Prime Minister of Haiti. He resigned on 14 May 2011. Biography Personal life Bellerive was born in Port-au-Prince in 1958. As the son of a prominent doctor, he left Haiti at a ver ...

and First Lady Elisabeth Delatour Préval. She held a one-hour weekly interview program, "Ahora Podemos Hablar", on WIPR-TV, Puerto Rico's public television station, on Sunday prime time. After the death of Carlos Mamery late in 2014, Jovet signed with WAPA-America to substitute him on their show, " Lo Sé Todo", where she is now a political analyst.

References

External links