Who Is Laura Martínez, anyway?

Grilling Don Francisco, circa 2012 in New York City.

I am a bilingual writer and editor with over 30 years of experience writing and editing stories about business, media, technology and pop culture in Latin America and the U.S.

As a journalist working in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and now the U.S., I have helped launch –and grow– several publications, both in print and digital format.

In my most recent position as Global Text Editor with The Associated Press, I work with a team of editors in Latin America, the U.S., Europe, Africa and Asia handling international copy on a wide range of stories, from breaking news to long-form features.

I work closely with AP’s news managers and journalists to ensure AP content is accurate, fast, distinctive and packaged creatively for audiences around the world.

Prior to joining The Associated Press, I worked as a breaking news editor with Axios.com and with CBS Interactive’s CNET en Español, where I helped assemble a team of reporters and videographers documenting all things tech all over the world.

I have a soft spot for Hispanic and/or Latin things, especially when they’re taken at ridiculous heights (thus this blog is already 16 years –and counting.)

Find me if you can

Yup. There’s a ton of us. CES Las Vegas 2020

Prior to joining CBS, I was the founder –and Editor in Chief– of VNU’s Marketing y Medios magazine, an English-language trade publication devoted to explaining the Hispanic market to a non-Spanish speaking audience of executives and marketers in the United States. We were the sister publication of Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek, Billboard and Editor & Publisher.

I left that magazine in December 2006 following its sale to a new owner (Nielsen).

Prior to that, I was responsible for creating and launching the Spanish-language edition of the Wall Street Journal, a weekly publication which was distributed as an insert in several Spanish-language newspapers in the country. I had tons of fun doing that, but as most things “Hispanic,” this was shut down upon not making the trillion dollars we expected.

Born and raised in Mexico City, I left my country at the age of 17 to study the International Baccalaureate at the United World College of South East Asia, in Singapore, a fantastic two-year experience which changed me forever, not only for the outstanding education I received, but also for the people, cultures and countries I discovered.

Back in Mexico City, I went to the Escuela de Periodismo Carlos Septien Garcia, the country’s most prestigious school solely dedicated to teaching journalism, where I graduated with honors. My final thesis: “The involvement of the United States of America in Mexican economic and political affairs as reflected in leading print media: case studies: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times”.

Through my journalistic career, I have reported and written stories out of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Santiago, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires. I have been a keynote speaker at some major events both in Latin America and the United States. I am fluent in English, Spanish and French.

‘Al Punto’ [Univision] March 28, 2010

You can write to me at: latinbeauty (at) gmail (dot) com. Follow me on Mastodon

Click here -or on photo below- to watch the video on Univision.com

NY1 Noticias [Time Warner Cable] April 24, 2009

February 1 to present: Independent writer, editor and translator

I am a New York City-based bilingual writer and editor specialized in marketing and advertising. Since leaving my post as editor in chief and founder of Marketing y Medios magazine, I set up my own company offering professional editing, translating and writing services for companies seeking to tap into the U.S. Hispanic market. Current and past clients include Avon Inc., NBC Universal, Meredith Corp., Siempre Mujer, the New York City Health Department, Hogar Latino LLC, Latin 2 Latin Marketing, Advertising Age, Cinema Tropical and Mi Cash Inc.

June 7 2004 to Dec. 31, 2006:
Editor in Chief
ADWEEK’s Marketing y Medios
A VNU Business Media publication
New York, NY

I was hired by the Dutch media conglomerate to spearhead the launch of Marketing y Medios, a monthly magazine covering Hispanic-targeted media, marketing and advertising. I was responsible for hiring a staff of bilingual journalists, photographers and art directors, as well as putting together a team of freelance writers in the United States and Latin America. Under my leadership, and in only two years, Marketing y Medios was nominated twice for the prestigious Jesse H. Neal Awards –in 2005 as Best Start-Up publication and in 2006 as Best Department for our En Español, Por Favor monthly column. I was also responsible for launching http://www.marketingymedios.com, currently the online leader in analysis and breaking news related to Hispanic marketing, advertising and media.

February 2001 to May 2004: Editor
The Wall Street Journal en Español
New York, NY

I was charged with the creation and launch of the first Spanish-language edition of The Wall Street Journal, a weekly publication launched on March 4th, 2004, which circulates as an insert in major Hispanic newspapers around the country. In this capacity, I was responsible for selecting, translating and editing articles from the English edition of The Wall Street Journal and coordinating a team of freelance contributors. My duties included editing and feeding the Spanish-language Web site of The Wall Street Journal (http://americas.wsj.com)

August 1999 to February 2001: Managing Editor
SoyEntrepreneur.com
New York, NY
I was the creator and editor of SoyEntrepreneur.com, the leading online Spanish-language magazine for small businesses, working with an editorial team throughout Mexico and a production team in Irvine, California. The Web site is the Spanish-language edition of the leading U.S. small business Web site. It covers themes such as marketing, sales strategies, advertising, business creation, franchising and export opportunities for small business owners throughout Latin America and within the Hispanic community in the U.S.

February 1997 — August 1999: Editor
Revista Entrepreneur en Español
Mexico City
I worked as the editor of Entrepreneur en Español, Mexico´s leading magazine for small business owners. I was in charge of assigning and editing of the editorial material for the whole magazine. During this period, sales of the magazine grew from 9,000 copies in early 1997 to nearly 39,000 by November 1999, mainly due to a wider coverage of Mexican stories rather than translating the US editorial content.

March 1996 – January 1997: Editor and correspondent
AmericaEconomia Dow Jones & Co.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
I was in charge of the Argentina coverage of the Latin American business magazine, AmericaEconomia. I established the magazine´s first editorial office in Buenos Aires, writing my own articles and liaising with other correspondents in the country and the magazine´s main editorial office in Santiago de Chile.

January 1995 – March 1996: Editor and correspondent
AmericaEconomia Dow Jones & Co.
Santiago de Chile, Chile
During this period, I anchored the Mercosur coverage of AmericaEconomia from the magazine´s main office in Santiago. This involved reporting and editing stories on business, trade, economics and finance on Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay – the countries that comprise the Mercado Común del Sur.

November 1993 – December 1994: Reporter
AmericaEconomia
Mexico City
I worked as a correspondent for AmericaEconomia in Mexico and Central America covering the economics, business, trade and finances of the region.

January 1993 – November 1993: Reporter
El Financiero Satellite News Service (Finsat)
Mexico City
I worked as a financial reporter for the English and Spanish language services of this news agency, traveling to Europe, the US and Central America.

January 1992 – January 1993: Editorial Assistant
El Financiero Weekly International Edition
Mexico City
My principal responsibilities included the translation from Spanish into English of articles on business, economics and finance; reporting and coordination of photography for the weekly edition of the leading financial daily, El Financiero.

Education

1990-1994
Escuela de Periodismo Carlos Septién García
Mexico City
Bachelor of Journalism
Thesis: “The involvement of the United States of America in Mexican economic and political affairs as reflected in leading print media: case studies: The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times”.

1986-1988
United World College of South East Asia
Singapore, Singapore
I completed my secondary education with a scholarship to participate in UWC’s International Baccalaureate program. Final Thesis: “Was the Cuban Revolution Successful?”

Languages

Fluency in Spanish, English and French