12 News Anchor Vanessa Ruiz Celebrates Culture, Shakes Things Up in the Valley

By: Cindy G. Castillo

Vanessa Ruiz recalls a conversation with her father when she was just 13 years old, telling him she didn’t know exactly what her career would be yet, but she was sure about what she did NOT want it to be.

“I didn’t want to be stuck at an office,” she remembers, “I wanted to do something different every day, and if I could travel with my job that’d be great.” Her father then asked, “have you thought about journalism?,” and that’s when the seed was planted.

Born in Miami, Florida from Colombian descent, Vanessa went on to kick off her journalism career in 2001 as an assignment desk editor and later as associate producer for Telemundo Network’s national newscast. She started out young and in her early 20’s went on to become Telemundo International’s youngest news anchor, bringing national and international news stories to the homes of 5 million+ U.S. and Latin American viewers both in English and Spanish.

Starting out in journalism at such a young age had its challenges, but Vanessa has been able to prove herself in the media industry for 16 years.

“Because I started out so young I remember always thinking that I wanted to be taken seriously and that I wanted to portray the image of a very focused and centered journalist,” she said, “I didn’t want people to look at me as ‘oh, that young girl’ with no experience so I obviously worked so hard.”

And the fruits of her hard labor show today in her extensive resume. Vanessa has been nominated for several Emmys and recognized by The Academy of Television of Arts and Science for special coverage of September 11th. She was also awarded the David Burke Distinguished Journalism Award for exceptional integrity, bravery and originality in reporting, while being recognized as one of Florida’s leading Latinos in journalism.

Today, Vanessa also likes to share words of advice to young aspiring journalists who are — just like she was — looking to get a leg up in the industry. “I like to advice folks to find a mentor,” she says, “I think it’s so critical nowadays, important and sometimes really career-changing.”

Vanessa joined the 12 News late news anchor team in July 2015, joining Mark Curtis, Caribe Devine and Bruce Cooper weeknights at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. Since then, Vanessa has been able to add her own personal touch to each newscast, along with her high energy and perfect chemistry with co-anchor Mark.

“[Mark is] someone that from the very beginning has been very supportive,” she said, “I think Mark and I have been able to really hit it off, he’s such a good guy, such a family man, so I’m really lucky to have him not only as a co-worker but also as my friend.”

Most importantly, Vanessa has done an impeccable job representing the Latino community not only in Arizona, but nationwide. She admits that when people ask her why should Latinos be proud of who they are, the first thing that comes to her mind is, “why shouldn’t they?”

“I think national pride is a beautiful thing,” she says, “I have both worlds in me and I thank the universe for that because I think it’s a great thing. I mean, I get to enjoy cheeseburgers and fries and at the same time I like my rice, beans and pozole. I think that for anybody who’s lucky enough to experience two, three or however many cultures in their lives is a great thing; it makes you more rounded, more cultured and a more informed person.”

As Vanessa continues to move forward in her career, she says she doesn’t discard the idea of doing something that goes further than hard news.

“I’m a news junkie and I love what I do, but there’s a whole other side of me that would love to maybe do something that would allow me to do news but also allow me to show my personally,” she explains, “there’s so many platforms out there to do so, so maybe down the road that would be something that I would like to look into for sure.”

In the meantime, catch Vanessa Ruiz weeknights on 12 News, or though her social media channels on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.