Anne Wakefield

I am a broadcast journalist with over 15 years of experience as a reporter, anchor and film reviewer in major TV and radio markets in the United States and Mexico. Currently, I live in Washington, DC, where I am the political correspondent for the Mexican network Grupo Radio Centro (GRC; estimated audience of 15 million listeners throughout Mexico and the southwestern United States.) Before moving to DC in 2000, I worked in the electronic and print media in Mexico City, mainly at Televisa, the largest media group in the Spanish-speaking world; but also at the Latin American Institute of Educational Television (ILCE), local radio and several magazines.

For most of my career I have combined my news assignments with cultural journalism because I am convinced that the most effective and profound way to enhance people’s understanding of a given situation is showing it through the lens of art. I believe that no article, no research, no analysis, no statistic can convey meaning, or even awaken people’s empathy, as a book, film, painting or even a song can. I have used films, to tackle social, political and/or cultural issues. I believe that film and other art forms such as literature, theater and dance are equally thoughtful modes of investigating existential questions.

In 2002, I became the anchor for Telemundo’s first local newscast from the nation’s capital. But bringing film reviews to the mix was a more difficult matter, so I had to put aside my career as a film critic. However, I did enroll in a Master’s program at Georgetown University to keep up with the humanities, hoping that one day I would be able to use that knowledge in resuming my career as a cultural journalist. In 2005, I gave up my job at Telemundo to devote myself entirely to finish my thesis.

My interest in academia has led me not only to pursue a Master’s degree, but to participate in different conferences, seminars, and workshops. In June of 2006, I was invited to give a conference in France based on my Master’s thesis. My paper, “Chicano Cinema and Identity: Crossing the Border from Self to Other,” was published by the University of Paris in a volume about Borderlands and Borderlines. In 2005, I participated in the yearly six-week seminar on the Humanities at the School of Criticism and Theory of Cornell University.

As a political correspondent, I cover every day issues of American politics, adding cultural aspects to the mix. I also use films to illustrate aspects of U.S. politics that are difficult for Mexican audiences to understand.

My bicultural background—the fact that I grew up in Mexico with an American father and Mexican mother—has given me an insight that has proved useful in understanding the Latin and Anglo perspectives on issues of mutual concern for the United States and Mexico.

I have over 10 years of experience in major TV and radio markets in the United States and Mexico as a reporter, anchor and film reviewer. Currently, I live in Washington, DC where I am the political correspondent for the network Grupo Radio Centro. Before moving to DC in 2000, I worked in the electronic and print media in Mexico City, mainly at Televisa, the largest media group in the Spanish-speaking world; but also at the Latin American Institute of Educational Television (ILCE), local radio and several magazines.

I have always combined my news assignments with film journalism. My experience in both commercial and public television has given me the opportunity to learn how to adjust my message to diverse audiences. I also have acquired through the years an ability to interact and deal with a variety of people, such as movie stars, state and local government officials, experts on different fields, modest workers, academics, etc.

Throughout my career, I have landed exclusive interviews with film stars such as Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Deneuve, Brad Pitt, Julie Andrews and Oprah Winfrey. I have done live-coverage of the Oscars and the Canne film festival, among others.

Recently I created my own blog with film reviews called The Vampire of Enthusiasm.

I addressed the films in hand as cultural artifacts that revealed important aspects of society and world affairs at large.