Carmen Jovet Esteves (born June 9, 1944) is a journalist and the first Puerto Rican woman news anchor in Puerto Rico.

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 Pur ...

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. 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 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 ...

on a scholarship. When she was 17, she graduated with honors with a bachelor's degree in Political Sciences.

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

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. 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 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 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

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 of offenders, preventing othe ...

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 art ...

in New York City. 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 ''Brenda Starr, Reporter'' (often referred to simply as ''Brenda Starr'') is a comic strip about a glamorous, adventurous reporter. It was created in 1940 by Dale Messick for the Chicago Tribune Syndicate. History Although set in Chicago, ''Br ...

'' 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 and 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 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defin ...

, Puerto Rico, then-Governor Luis Fortuño asked her to coordinate a telethon to benefit the Red Cross'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

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 Politics of Haiti, 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 Li ...

, Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive 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