Leda Santodomingo: "You want me to look pretty for T.V.? I don't have time for that!"
When you watch the news, what do you look for? Is it that dazzling smile, well-combed hair or crisp suit that compels you to turn it on each morning? Or are you looking for something deeper—a story that stings, a source that speaks the truth and facts that you can rely on? For Leda Santodomingo, a 40 year Venezuelan veteran in the field, that is all that matters.
Leda valued being a trustworthy journalist within her community of Caracas, Venezuela so much, that her appearance tended to suffer. Her supervisors were eventually forced to discuss “what to do with her crazy hair.”
“One of the producers say, ‘What are we going to do with Leda, she always look like this,’” Leda relayed as she demonstrated the epitome of a “rats-nest” hair-do.
It was immediately after this conversation when Leda started wearing her signature accessory, which soon became her everyday uniform.
“I don’t have time! You want me to be pretty on T.V.? I don’t have time for that,” Leda said. “So I wore a hat—everybody liked it—so I wore a hat. And that was my uniform.”
Not only did Caracas residents find this uniform endearing, but Leda’s readers became faithfully accustomed to her wearing it. In fact, they became so loyal that when her successor wore a hat to represent Leda’s contribution to the field, she received significant backlash from the community.
But Leda says that more journalists these days should take this less materialistic approach.
“I think it’s important to be nice and pretty,” she said as her smile transformed into a stern, poker-like face. “But sometimes, taking too much care of yourself because you want to look pretty makes you forget the content. You have to bring the news. You are not the news. The news is the content. You’re just the vehicle.”
Leda valued being a trustworthy journalist within her community of Caracas, Venezuela so much, that her appearance tended to suffer. Her supervisors were eventually forced to discuss “what to do with her crazy hair.”
“One of the producers say, ‘What are we going to do with Leda, she always look like this,’” Leda relayed as she demonstrated the epitome of a “rats-nest” hair-do.
It was immediately after this conversation when Leda started wearing her signature accessory, which soon became her everyday uniform.
“I don’t have time! You want me to be pretty on T.V.? I don’t have time for that,” Leda said. “So I wore a hat—everybody liked it—so I wore a hat. And that was my uniform.”
Not only did Caracas residents find this uniform endearing, but Leda’s readers became faithfully accustomed to her wearing it. In fact, they became so loyal that when her successor wore a hat to represent Leda’s contribution to the field, she received significant backlash from the community.
But Leda says that more journalists these days should take this less materialistic approach.
“I think it’s important to be nice and pretty,” she said as her smile transformed into a stern, poker-like face. “But sometimes, taking too much care of yourself because you want to look pretty makes you forget the content. You have to bring the news. You are not the news. The news is the content. You’re just the vehicle.”
A phone call that changed a career
Leda Santodomingo remembers the time she saved the life of a kidnapped hostage in Venezuela. She didn’t use physical force or snatch the hostage away in a moment of daring. Instead, she simply talked to the kidnapper by phone.
Leda is not a police officer or even a relative or friend of the victim. She’s a journalist.
Leda was doing a regular live news show when she received a call from the kidnapper, who requested to talk to her and nobody else. In the hopes of saving the hostage’s life, Leda accepted the call.
“I was talking like a human being, trying to deal with the situation,” she said.
For much of Leda’s career, she was a reporter in her native Venezuela. Riding the wave of her popularity with her viewers and the nearly unlimited freedom given to journalists in her day, she often found herself in difficult situations, like negotiating with a kidnapper to preserve the hostage’s life.
But Leda does not glorify those moments. She wanted to be a journalist, not a police officer or a hero.
“That moment was so difficult, critical for me and my career,” she said. “I wasn’t ready for that.”
Now a resident of Chicago, and until recently a reporter for Telemundo, Leda has not talked to any kidnappers by phone in awhile. And she doesn’t miss it.
“I am happy I was able to do it,” Leda said. “Would I do it again? I would do many things for the news, but I don’t know. It was difficult. It was difficult.”
Leda is not a police officer or even a relative or friend of the victim. She’s a journalist.
Leda was doing a regular live news show when she received a call from the kidnapper, who requested to talk to her and nobody else. In the hopes of saving the hostage’s life, Leda accepted the call.
“I was talking like a human being, trying to deal with the situation,” she said.
For much of Leda’s career, she was a reporter in her native Venezuela. Riding the wave of her popularity with her viewers and the nearly unlimited freedom given to journalists in her day, she often found herself in difficult situations, like negotiating with a kidnapper to preserve the hostage’s life.
But Leda does not glorify those moments. She wanted to be a journalist, not a police officer or a hero.
“That moment was so difficult, critical for me and my career,” she said. “I wasn’t ready for that.”
Now a resident of Chicago, and until recently a reporter for Telemundo, Leda has not talked to any kidnappers by phone in awhile. And she doesn’t miss it.
“I am happy I was able to do it,” Leda said. “Would I do it again? I would do many things for the news, but I don’t know. It was difficult. It was difficult.”
Sample Tweets
Chicago journalist Leda Santodomingo remembers saving a kidnapped hostage. Read why she wouldn't do it again. http://ow.ly/uwK7S
Leda Santodomingo: "That moment was so difficult, critical for me and my career. I wasn't ready for that." http://ow.ly/uwK7S
Chicago journalist Leda Santodomingo remembers saving a kidnapped hostage. Read why she wouldn't do it again. http://ow.ly/uwK7S
Leda Santodomingo: "That moment was so difficult, critical for me and my career. I wasn't ready for that." http://ow.ly/uwK7S