An Interview with Monica Talan

As I prepared myself to ask someone for an interview, I never knew how extremely hard it was going to be. In my mind I had prepared myself to get these big-shot producers and everything would go smoothly. This was not quite how it went. I originally email the producer from the Ellen Show and got in contact with the Talent Booker instead. She said it was very hard to get an interview with any executive of the show unless you show up. Seeing as I live in the east coast, that was the first disappointment. Two weeks later, I email two producers from NBC studios because I figured New York City would be a good opportunity. To this day, I never got a response back. I thought many times of going to the actual studios and hope for the best, but last minute I discourage myself out.

            At this point I was discouraged and I honestly did not know what else to do. It was until I used my brains and decided to seek from help from my sorority. What good is having a good network if you don’t use it? And that is exactly what I did. A couple of months ago I found out one of my sorority sister is a Meteorologist for CW11 Linda Mateo. Linda Mateo became a sister in 1994 and has become very successful since than. Because I knew who she was, I did not want to directly interview her only so I asked if she knew anyone who was willing to give me an interview. I was very lucky to have been in the right place and the right time. Lisa introduced me to one of her close friends, Mónica Talán, senior vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Relations at Univision Communications, Inc., the leading media company serving Hispanic America. Although she was not exactly a producer, it was the closes to interviewing someone in a high position. I was able to talk to her for a few minutes and schedule an interview with her for the next week.
            It was very difficult to have a sit down interview because I come to Rider and traveling to New York City during the times she was available was almost impossible. We had a phone interview but she did promised to give me a face to face interview soon, only thing is that this project is due now. During my interview, I got to talk to her about the company, business, goals, and her personal life. She was very insightful and such a wonderful lady. Since joining Univision in 2008, Mónica has been instrumental in helping drive coverage of Univision to enhance the Company’s visibility in the media landscape. She created the corporate communications department and has since effectively transformed the company’s relations with key media, stakeholders and influencers. Her strategic approach and unique experience in media relations have helped further elevate the Univision brand. Monica was born in Mexico City, Mexico and grew up in Laredo, Texas. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin where she graduating excepting to get a job in production.

            Mrs. Monica Talan got into the company as an intern. She wanted to work in a company that brought her back to her roots because her family didn’t speak much English at the time. Monica remembers telling her mother that she was going to try to get into a Spanish-speaking network so her family would see that she always had them in mind. She started small, by working an obtaining leadership positions in Texas television networks. Later on in life, Monica moved to New York permanently to try to obtain a permanent job. She decided that if she wanted to stay in the company she would have to work extremely hard, seeing as it was a very competitive atmosphere. She became an assistant to at that time, producer to a show called “Entre Las Nueves” which was a small reality show on married couples. She told me that the majority of shows produced by Univision serve family television. After being an assistant she became ¼ of the producers crew. She later on decided she was better of staying in New York since she became married and had her first child. This is when she started her executive leadership. After many years of enjoying the production aspect of her career, she wanted to be able to say she was trying hard to achieve major goals.

            The multiplatform national brand that Univision is today came from decidedly humble beginnings. The roots of the company trace back to KWEX-TV in San Antonio – the first full-time Spanish-language station in America and the first UHF station in the country. By the 1970s the company had grown into a national network in the United States to broadcast the World Cup soccer tournament. In 1979 Galavisión was launched as the first Spanish-language cable network in the United States. Univision Online launched in 2000. Over the last decade Univision has continued to grow on multiple fronts. In 2002 Univision’s second broadcast network, TeleFutura, was launched. Univision completed the acquisition of Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation in 2003 to form Univision Radio, the largest Spanish-language radio broadcasting company in the United States. In 2009 Univision Interactive Media was formed to house Univision.com, Univision Móvil, and an ever-expanding array of digital offerings. Univision On Demand also debuted in 2009, through distribution partners. Univision announced in 2009 the creation of Univision Studios, a new production arm focused on producing and coproducing content for all of the company’s platforms.

            Monica was able to do so much for the company and remains to be humble. She states that she hates that sometimes she is too busy because working in big companies gets overwhelming everyday but the pay makes up for it. Although she did not tell me how much she makes, she did say an average producer salary at Univision starts at $54, 800. She laughed when I opened my eyes because I personally believe that is a lot of money for a beginner. We later spoke about her choices in life and how she is proud of young Latinas working to make a better future for them. She encouraged me to pursue my dreams and if I ever needed anything to not hesitate to contact her. She agreed to do a face to face videotaped interview whenever I have a chance to go up to New York again. She also told me if I ever wanted to get an opportunity to get experience in the offices of Univision, to contact her. It was nice to meet her because she truly is an inspiration to me. I honestly believe it was meant to be because she was very knowledgeable and by far the easiest to talk to. I will do an interview with her for future purposes and I will definitely take up on that offer. This interviewed encouraged to contact other producers or executives because you truly never know what can happened.