CBS News has a link to TV broadcasting that hearkens to the days of Walter Cronkite and Douglas Edwards. But a new special set to debut Sunday evening was made available for streaming earlier this week.
The hour-long effort, “Pandemia: Latinos in Crisis,” focuses on the Latinx community and the pressures placed upon it and other communities of color by the coronavirus pandemic. Maria Elena Salinas, the veteran Univision correspondent who joined CBS News as a contributor in July of last year, will anchor the special, which features original reporting from a team of Latinx journalists at CBS News. CBS News plans to stream the special on its CBSN video hub Sunday night at 9 p.m. eastern, but made it available for on-demand viewing Friday at cbsnews.com/pandemia.
“Pandemia” includes interviews with activist Dolores Huerta as well as Senator Marco Rubio and New York State Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz. Celebrities including Eva Longoria, José Andrés, Wilmer Valderrama, Becky G, Rita Moreno, Rosie Perez and Oscar De la Hoya also make appearances. Viewers will come to visit the farms of central Florida and sites in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Texas, California, New York and Mexico, Ecuador, Brazil, and Spain.
CBS News personnel interview ICE detainees on their fears of contracting coronavirus while in detention as well as DACA recipients risking their lives while going to work. Ramiro Cavazos, president of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, discusses the pandemic’s effect on those suffering economic hardship. “Pandemia” also explores how Latinx families can help bridge the educational gap during the pandemic with DACA activist and teacher Rebecca Tule-Romain.
The special was produced by a majority Latinx team at CBS News, including CBS News correspondents Manuel Bojorquez, Adriana Diaz, Ed O’Keefe, Omar Villafranca, and Mireya Villarreal; and CBS News reporter Camilo Montoya. Kim Godwin, CBS News’ executive vice president of news, was senior executive producer. CBS News’ Washington Deputy Bureau Chief Lorna Jones and Luis Giraldo are executive producers.