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Patricia Janiot: The Friendly Face of the News

By Silvia Maestrutti

Colombian, married to an Argentine and the mother of two children born in the United States, Patricia Janiot seems destined to face the camera that, from the studio in Atlanta, brings her into 12 million homes across the Americas via CNN en Español.

“I believe in destiny, but I also believe in luck and that you need to give it a helping hand,” Janiot says confidently in a strong Colombian accent that she neutralizes when in the anchor chair. “I don’t believe that our fortunes are written in stone and that we must simply give in and let our destiny lead us were it may,” she explains. “On the contrary, I believe that we must leave our mark and work very hard to reach our dreams.”

Janiot has been the face of news in Spanish for the world-famous network since 1992. When she first started there, she anchored two half-hour news segments in Spanish within CNN’s International English broadcast. Today, in addition to serving as an advisor to the network’s vice-president, she anchors three programs on CNN en Español, which premiered 1997 due to popular demand and now offers 24-hour news coverage to not only all of Latin America, but also to over two million Hispanic viewers in the in the United States.

Her image is well-known to the network’s audience. On camera she appears poised and elegant, as if fresh from the beauty parlor. Even so, Janiot says that the viewers would never recognize her if they ran into her in the supermarket.

In October of 2003 she traveled to Sweden to receive an award from Queen Silvia for the work of her foundation, “Colombianitos,” which strives to turn young Colombians on to sports and school, and away from drugs and the streets. In the photograph taken during the ceremony, both women look fabulous, and Janiot even looks like a beauty queen. Not surprisingly, she once came pretty close to being crowned.

Before making a name for yourself as a news anchor, you were named first runner up in the Miss Colombia pageant. What led you to take part in that contest?
Well, first I have to explain that this was 20 years ago, and that I come from a country where beauty pageants are an institution. You have to live in Colombia to understand it. Where I was born, in Bucaramanga, the capital of the district of Santander, there was a contest committee that went house-to-house recruiting girls who could represent the district. I was never really interested but don’t regret having participated. The contestants are invited everywhere—they get to visit the Congress and even the president. Because I was fairly comfortable in front of a microphone, I started to get all kinds of job offers in the media. I realized that my father was right when he said that I was destined for much more than just studying design and architectural drawing. In Bogota, I got a degree in journalism and began working in television right away.

You had a very successful career in Colombia. Why did you decide to pack your bags and move to the United States?
In 1990, I went to visit my boyfriend—who’s now my husband—in Los Angeles. We were already talking marriage, and he advised me to bring copies of my resumé with me and take them to the local Spanish-language TV stations. In Colombia, I had already made a name for myself in journalism, rapidly achieving success in a short time, and he didn’t want me to give it all up for love. My mother encouraged me, saying, “Not everyone is lucky enough to find a man and a job in the same place. That doesn’t happen too often, so go for it.” (she laughs). From there, I moved to Atlanta, where I’ve lived ever since.

Whether you’re traveling or just reading the wire service reports on your desk, you’re always on top of what’s happening in Latin America. How do you see things in the region?
In the political realm, I’d definitely say that there’s a heavy tilt to the left, which is the result of the failure of the neo-liberal politicians of the last decade. But I’m noting more and more optimism among the people. I see their determination despite the problems they face. There’s more hope and better spirits—people realize that they have to get involved and that a country needs the efforts of all its citizens, and not just the government, to achieve real progress.

And how do you view the situation of Latin Americans who’ve immigrated to the United States?
I believe that being Latino in the United States now offers a big advantage. Americans are now paying more attention to the Hispanic population, since we offer a huge, untapped market and there’s a need for Hispanic employees to service Hispanic customers.
On the other hand, for undocumented Hispanics, life is never easy. But for those who have a job offer and their papers in order, it’s an excellent time to come to the United States. If you’ve got good connections here, there’s a whole world to conquer.

Speaking of the world, your profession frequently takes you around the globe. What places would you recommend visiting?
First, I’d recommend that you visit my country. Cartagena really needs no promoting because it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and so beautiful. But I’ve just come from visiting the Quindío region, where two fascinating parks have recently opened. They’re of particular interest to children, where visitors can get in touch with nature, see the animals and learn how coffee is processed. I came back from seeing them enthralled because they have great highways, there are plenty of helpful roadsigns, you don’t have to worry about security, many area farms have been converted into bed and breakfasts and quaint hotels and you’re surrounded by lush vegetation. You can go to an area plateau and enjoy trout dishes or you can go whitewater rafting, after which they welcome you back with music and food. It’s really a delightful spot for ecotourists.

CNN en Español just turned seven this March. How do you view your performance so far?
I am very satisfied. It’s incredible how far we’ve come. When I go through airports is when I realize what an impact the network has. People recognize and respect us and we have credibility, which is very gratifying. But this also brings with it a lot of responsibility: we know that the governing officials who make decisions in the region get their information on neighboring countries from us.