Telemundo Station Group launches the month-long climate change initiative Our Planet Thursday, March 28. The multiplatform campaign ends on Earth Day, April 22, when the documentary Our Planet: Voices of Climate Change airs on Telemundo-owned stations and NBCUniversal Local’s streaming news channels.
The film is produced by WTMO Orlando, known as Telemundo 31. The group calls it “a journalistic and scientific examination of climate change and its effects on lives and livelihoods.” Featuring journalists and meteorologists from Telemundo-owned stations, the program looks at climate change issues in Alaska, California, Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and Mexico.
From now through Earth Day, the half-hour special Our Planet: Stories That Connect Us, which offers bonus content gathered during production of the documentary, appears on NBCU Local’s streaming news channels. Special Our Planet: Behind the Scenes, chronicling the production team’s experiences and travel while shooting Our Planet: Voices of Climate Change, will debut April 22 alongside the documentary.
“Our changing climate is a consequential and complex issue, and Earth Day presents an appropriate moment to explore its growing impacts on our environment and people,” said José Cancela, president of Telemundo Station Group. “I’m proud that our talented journalists, meteorologists and producers committed their expertise and tremendous efforts to bring this initiative to our audiences to further engage and inform them on this crisis.”
Our Planet also includes special segments that will be featured in stations’ newscasts on Thursdays through Earth Day, beginning March 28. They will detail the effects climate change and other environmental issues are having on our communities. They will also be available on the Telemundo-owned stations’ streaming and digital platforms.
On April 22, Our Planet: Voices of Climate Change will premiere as a half-hour special on the 30 Telemundo-owned stations in the U.S. at 11 a.m. ET/PT and 10 a.m. CT/MT, and on WKAQ Puerto Rico April 21 at 5:30 p.m. A one-hour edition will debut on the Telemundo regional news streaming channels at 9 p.m. ET/PT and 8 p.m. CT, with a half-hour English-language version premiering on the NBC local news streaming channels at 9 p.m.
“Our priority is to deliver compelling and informative storylines to Spanish-speaking communities across the nation, and weather and climate are amongst the most critical topics we cover,” said Osvaldo Martínez, executive VP of multiplatform news, original programming & standards, Telemundo Station Group. “We’re pleased to showcase this premium storytelling and production across our full portfolio of TV and streaming platforms.”
Our Planet programs feature meteorologists from across the station group, including Gabriella Dellán, Telemundo Station Group meteorologist; Pablo Sánchez, lead meteorologist for Telemundo Houston; Alexis Orengo, chief meteorologist for Telemundo 31 Orlando; Ariel Rodríguez, meteorologist for Telemundo 51 Miami; and Brenda Cantú, chief meteorologist for Telemundo 40 Rio Grande Valley.
Contributing journalists include Yisel Tejeda, Telemundo 31 anchor; Dunia Elvir, Telemundo 52 Los Ángeles anchor; Claudia de la Fuente, Telemundo 48 Área de la Bahía anchor; Ana Méndez, Telemundo Station Group’s Mexico bureau reporter; and Jorge Almaraz, Telemundo 40 Rio Grande Valley anchor. Almaraz is also the narrator.
Emilio Ramos de Jesus, Telemundo 31 Orlando’s multiplatform content lead, is lead producer. Arnaldo Ginés from Telemundo 39 and KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth oversees photography, creative and editing. Andrea Cruz, Telemundo News Service reporter and producer, and Sandra Perez, Telemundo 48 Área de la Bahía news director, are producers.
