[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 7199]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


        TRIBUTE TO ROSSANA ROSADO, PUBLISHER EL DIARIO-LA PRENSA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 20, 2003

  Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to pay tribute to Mrs. Rossana 
Rosado, Publisher and CEO of the El Diario-La Prensa who will be 
honored on Thursday, March 20, 2003, on the 90th anniversary of the 
newspaper, the oldest Spanish-language daily in the United States. I 
regret that I am unable to join her and her colleagues for the 18th 
Annual National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) Convention 
and luncheon in Las Vegas. l would very much have enjoyed celebrating 
this well-deserved recognition with her.
  For 90 years, EI Diario-La Prensa has been instrumental to the 
Hispanic community in the Northeast, providing the Hispanic community 
in the United States a vehicle of communication within itself, which 
has contributed to its development and strengthening and empowered 
Hispanics to attain significant achievements in the political, economic 
and social arena. Furthermore, for nine decades, El Diario-La Prensa 
has informed our Latino community, serving as an ever present link 
between them and their families and friends in their countries of 
origin in Latin America and the Caribbean, during times of political 
turmoil and times of stability, times of success as well as times of 
economic downturn, joyous occasions or sad times.
  Mr. Speaker, good writing is indeed an art. From 1995 to 1999, Ms. 
Rosado was responsible for the newsroom operations as El Diario's 
Editor in Chief, becoming the first Latina and one of just a few women 
in this country to hold this important position at a major newspaper. 
Her writing, eloquent and to the point, has won the attention and 
admiration of El Diario-La Prensa readers like me. I commend her for 
her ability to bring style to provocative and powerful commentary. 
Editorials that grab the reader with candid and passionate writing 
about politics and other issues affecting New York City communities 
deserve recognition.
  In September 1999, after dedicating to El Diario-La Prensa nine of 
her seventeen years in the news media, Ms. Rosado was promoted to 
Publisher and CEO to oversee the day-to-day operations of the entire 
paper. She, once again, became the first Latina in the U.S. to hold 
such a high-ranking post in the newspaper-publishing world. This move 
provided her with the opportunity to cross over to the business and 
revenue side of the newspaper industry, a new frontier for Latinos in 
general and for women in particular. It is interesting to mention that 
her first experience as a reporter was at El Diario-La Prensa where she 
covered my home borough of the Bronx as well as City Hall, and wrote a 
weekly column. Ms. Rosado has had a diverse career in the N.Y. media, 
which includes work at radio and television stations, print media and 
public service.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Rosado is the recipient of several prestigious 
awards including an Emmy for her work in television. Among many 
tributes, in March 2002, she received the NYS Governor's award for 
Excellence- ``Women Sustaining the American Spirit''--in honor of 
Women's History Month. How fitting, Mr. Speaker. Ms. Rosado served as a 
member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's transition team. She serves as 
Director on the board of United Way of NYC and September 11th Fund, as 
well as in other organizations. She is a graduate of Pace University, 
in White Pains, New York where she received her B.A. in journalism.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. 
Rossana Rosado for her leadership and extraordinary contributions to 
the advancement of journalism and in wishing her continued success.

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