For many Spanish-speakers in Monterey County tuning into the 6pm or 11pm newscast in the past three decades, Fidel Soto was the consistent and charismatic face of local news. KSMS-TV, better known as Univision 67, was founded in 1986 to fill a void in Spanish-language TV. In November 1987, the station aired its first noticias (news) broadcast with Soto as part of the original four-person team. He stayed at Univision 67 until September of this year.
Soto was born and raised in Araro, Michoacán. Like many Mexican youths, he was a fútbol fanatic. When his town hosted a tournament, 10-year-old Soto and some friends stumbled upon a PA system and a microphone at the local stadium. Other kids spoke obscenities and jokes into the microphone, but Soto took to it and began narrating the game.
He couldn’t envision it at the time, but that brief experience announcing play-by-play for a soccer game was a taste of the work as a sports anchor, among other reporting roles, in his career. After attending preparatorios (Mexico’s post-high school term) for two years, Soto decided to make the journey to the U.S.
For the first time in decades, Soto can take a break from being consumed by the news cycle, and he sat down with the Weekly to look back on his career.
Weekly: What was the start of your career in media?
When I arrived in the United States, I had to work here in the campo (fields) for four years. I packed artichokes in Castroville and harvested broccoli and lettuce. In 1979, during one of the four-month periods every year when there’s no farm work, somebody suggested I visit the Center for Employment Training in Salinas. They gave me a job translating three-minute news reports to Spanish for the radio station KRAY-FM. I didn’t know anything about news, but I read well – at least better than the DJs. I enjoyed the work. After working at that station for awhile, I moved to one in Hollister to be a radio personality. What inspired you to transition from radio to TV news?
I didn’t understand at the time that making television is a big difference from radio. All I knew was that radio wasn’t paying well and that a lot of my colleagues in radio were moving to TV. In 1983 I was offered a job on the news team of Univision in Modesto. I was lucky enough to learn everything on the go. It didn’t take long for them to send me and my cameramen down to Los Angeles or Sacramento to interview big names in culture and politics.
Are there any fundamental traits a news anchor should have?
Anybody can read from a teleprompter, but what defines a good anchor is how you respond when the teleprompter isn’t working. Those who can improvise will succeed. Regardless of the conditions, you have to keep the flow going before the viewers at home catch you slipping.
You were part of the original news team when Univision 67 was founded, and worked there until 2017. In that time, what stories retained relevance?
Immigration has always been central to our coverage at Univision. When we first started airing, President Reagan had passed amnesty. Many immigrants in the community at the time thought it was a gimmick and some sort of trap to deport them. We were doing daily stories and interviewing attorneys and activists about the issue. I think by informing the public about the facts, we encouraged a lot of people to get their green card. That role in reporting the facts about immigration will be just as important for Univision with the Trump administration.
You’ve interviewed politicians, athletes, Latino celebrities. Which were your most memorable?
While I was in Modesto, Vice President George Bush came to campaign for President Reagan’s re-election. I asked Bush one question – “What would the Reagan-Bush ticket do for the Hispanic community?” – and he replied by saying the wife of his son, Jeb Bush, was a Mexican.
How significant is Spanish-language TV news for the Latino community?
Even though the younger generation may get the news in other formats, older generations, especially immigrants, don’t speak English and depend on Univision or Telemundo to get updates about their world. I encounter young people all the time who say my parents or abuelos watch you religiously.