I was at the White House during an early morning shift in 2022 when I received a call from our CBS News vice president. She asked me if I could go to a quiet place. I told her I would call her back and walked up from our CBS White House booth, the tiny work area where the network news teams are squished in like sailors on a submarine and headed to the quiet place: it was the White House driveway that looks out over the magnificent structure, serving much more than just the residence of our country’s top elected official, but to many in the world, as a beacon for democracy and hope.
It was chilly, but the robins hopping around on the slant of the green hill next to the press entrance were already working to find their breakfast in the pristine, manicured soil.
On the North Lawn, I saw the landscape workers, mostly Latinos, working on a project with the National Park Service rangers, along the bushes, near “Pebble Beach,” where the network correspondents report live to millions of Americans a day; where I myself had done some live reports for our streaming network. I pulled up the phone, inserted my air pods, lifted my arm, and facetimed her back.
“Fin,” she said, a kind smile across her face. “We would like to offer you the position of Political Director for CBS News. The decision was unanimous.”
I didn’t say anything for a long time, a long time in TV, a full 15 to 20 seconds. I was awestruck, amazed, excited, and little anxious. I could not fully comprehend what she had just told me — I didn’t think I would get the job. The task was daunting: a political director in charge of running the daily network political coverage for CBS News — I mean, the CBS News of Walter Cronkite, Edward R. Murrow, and Connie Chung. The position would also be a “first.” I would be the first Latino journalist to serve in that executive role, not just for CBS, but the first among the five major American networks.
I stared back with my mouth agape, looked at the robins jumping around the slant of the hill, then looked again at the group of Latino workers on the North Lawn, laughing over a shared moment in Spanish, as they worked diligently around the trees.
I immediately thought of my family, some of whom had done similar work. I thought of my mother who emigrated to this country from El Salvador when she was 18 years old and worked hard to work for both the Carter and Reagan administrations. I thought of my grandfather, a Mexican-American, a hero of mine, who worked overnights as an airport janitor and then later as a restaurant owner to help raise his 12 children. I thought of my father, who marched in protests organized by Cesar Chavez decades ago and worked his way through law school as a bag boy at a grocery store. I knew that if it weren’t for them, my familia, who blazed the trail ahead of me, I would have never been able to take the steps that lead me to be on the opposite end of a phone call about the biggest job in my life. Without them, without my family, I would never be here.
I also remembered a crucial component — I would never would have gotten the confidence even to apply, if it weren’t for my amazing colleagues, like CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Weijia Jiang, who reminded me to look at my resume when I was wavering on even raising my hand for the position. “You have to know your value,” she said. I took her advice and the advice of so many of my NAHJ family who always told me to aim high; because even if you don’t get it, you may open the door for someone else behind you.
“I am honored,” I said, finally, the words struggling to come out of my mouth like a sputtering engine trying to start during a cold Des Moines winter.
“I am honored,” I said a second time, this time my voice rising in confidence built from the generations of my family who came before me. I almost felt their presence around me, like a sweet abrazo, as they smiled and shared a moment in Spanish, full of happiness and pride.