ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jorge Ramos - Journalist, news anchor
Jorge Ramos's work covers the issues that affect the 55 million Latinos in the United States and immigrants all over the world.

Why you should listen

Jorge Ramos immigrated to the United States from Mexico City, on a student visa at the age of 24. What started as a street beat for a local Spanish-language broadcast in Los Angeles in the 1980s has evolved into a career of remarkable distinction and credibility. Today, Ramos co-anchors Univision's flagship Spanish-language broadcast, “Noticiero Univisión," writes a nationally syndicated column, hosts the Sunday Morning show "Al Punto" and now, the English language program, "America with Jorge Ramos." He is the winner of eight Emmys and the author of eleven books, including Take a Stand: Lessons from Rebels, 2016; A Country for All: An Immigrant Manifesto; and Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History.

In the absence of political representation in the United States, Jorge Ramos gives a face and voice to the millions of Latinos and immigrants living in the United States. He uses his platform to promote open borders and immigrants' rights and demands accountability from the world leaders he interviews. Nearly 1.9 million viewers tune into his program each night, and in 2015, Time named him one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People."

More profile about the speaker
Jorge Ramos | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Jorge Ramos: Why journalists have an obligation to challenge power

Filmed:
612,151 views

You can kick Jorge Ramos out of your press conference (as Donald Trump infamously did in 2015), but you can never silence him. A reporter for more than 30 years, Ramos believes that a journalist's responsibility is to question and challenge those in power. In this compelling talk -- which earned him a standing ovation midway through -- Ramos explains why, in certain circumstances, he believes journalists must take sides. (In Spanish with English subtitles)
- Journalist, news anchor
Jorge Ramos's work covers the issues that affect the 55 million Latinos in the United States and immigrants all over the world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
I'm a journalist,
0
1800
1247
00:15
and I'm an immigrant.
1
3071
1939
00:17
And these two conditions define me.
2
5034
3230
00:20
I was born in Mexico,
3
8288
1418
00:21
but I've spent more than half my life
reporting in the United States,
4
9730
3726
00:25
a country which was itself
created by immigrants.
5
13480
2984
00:28
As a reporter
6
16488
2910
00:31
and as a foreigner,
7
19422
1702
00:33
I've learned that neutrality,
8
21148
2339
00:36
silence
9
24319
1197
00:38
and fear aren't the best options --
10
26024
2882
00:40
not in journalism, nor in life.
11
28930
2204
00:43
Neutrality
12
31158
1179
00:45
is often an excuse that we journalists use
13
33226
3206
00:48
to hide from our true responsibility.
14
36456
3309
00:51
What is that responsibility?
15
39789
1814
00:54
It is to question
16
42300
1239
00:56
and to challenge
17
44232
1513
00:57
those in positions of power.
18
45769
1357
00:59
That's what journalism is for.
19
47150
1459
01:00
That's the beauty of journalism:
20
48633
1775
01:02
to question and challenge the powerful.
21
50432
2493
01:05
Of course, we have the obligation
to report reality as it is,
22
53581
3437
01:09
not how we would like it to be.
23
57042
1738
01:10
In that sense, I agree
with the principle of objectivity:
24
58804
3456
01:14
if a house is blue, I say that it's blue.
25
62284
2458
01:16
If there are a million unemployed people,
I say there are a million.
26
64766
3228
01:20
But neutrality
27
68018
1280
01:21
won't necessarily lead me to the truth.
28
69322
3262
01:25
Even if I'm unequivocally scrupulous,
29
73201
3539
01:28
and I present both sides of a news item --
30
76764
3669
01:33
the Democratic and the Republican,
31
81108
2111
01:35
the liberal and the conservative,
32
83243
1637
01:36
the government's and the opposition's --
33
84904
1949
01:38
in the end, I have no guarantee,
34
86877
2459
01:41
nor are any of us guaranteed
that we'll know what's true
35
89360
3191
01:44
and what's not true.
36
92575
1408
01:46
Life is much more complicated,
37
94007
1901
01:47
and I believe journalism should reflect
that very complexity.
38
95932
5015
01:53
To be clear: I refuse
39
101702
2494
01:57
to be a tape recorder.
40
105334
1342
01:58
I didn't become a journalist
to be a tape recorder.
41
106700
2409
02:01
I know what you're going to say:
no one uses tape recorders nowadays.
42
109133
3308
02:04
(Laughter)
43
112465
1067
02:05
In that case, I refuse
to take out my cell phone
44
113556
3790
02:09
and hit the record button
45
117370
2429
02:11
and point it in front of me
as if I were at a concert,
46
119823
2630
02:14
like a fan at a concert.
47
122477
1475
02:16
That is not true journalism.
48
124526
2570
02:19
Contrary to what many people think,
49
127120
2380
02:21
journalists are making
value judgments all the time,
50
129524
4549
02:26
ethical and moral judgments.
51
134097
1849
02:27
And we're always making decisions
that are exceedingly personal
52
135970
5154
02:33
and extraordinarily subjective.
53
141822
2165
02:36
For example:
54
144011
1204
02:37
What happens if you're called
to cover a dictatorship,
55
145977
2579
02:40
like Augusto Pinochet's regime in Chile
56
148580
2065
02:42
or Fidel Castro's in Cuba?
57
150669
2820
02:45
Are you going to report only what
the general and commander want,
58
153513
3749
02:49
or will you confront them?
59
157286
1420
02:51
What happens if you find out
that in your country
60
159177
3131
02:55
or in the country next door,
61
163099
1818
02:56
students are disappearing
62
164941
3012
02:59
and hidden graves are appearing,
63
167977
2001
03:02
or that millions of dollars
are disappearing from the budget
64
170002
2968
03:04
and that ex-presidents are magically
now multimillionaires?
65
172994
4410
03:09
Will you report only the official version?
66
177428
2049
03:11
Or what happens
67
179501
1226
03:13
if you're assigned to cover
68
181625
1325
03:15
the presidential elections
of the primary superpower,
69
183946
5023
03:20
and one of the candidates makes
comments that are racist,
70
188993
4383
03:26
sexist
71
194577
1175
03:28
and xenophobic?
72
196244
1251
03:31
That happened to me.
73
199184
1237
03:33
And I want to tell you what I did,
74
201278
1876
03:35
but first, let me explain
where I'm coming from,
75
203178
2568
03:37
so you can understand my reaction.
76
205770
2146
03:42
I grew up in Mexico City,
the oldest of five brothers,
77
210690
2884
03:45
and our family simply couldn't afford
to pay for all of our college tuition.
78
213598
4672
03:50
So I studied in the morning,
and worked in the afternoon.
79
218294
3414
03:53
Eventually,
80
221732
1493
03:56
I got the job I had always wanted:
81
224018
3113
03:59
television reporter.
82
227155
1325
04:00
It was a big opportunity.
83
228504
1700
04:02
But as I was working on
my third story, I ended up
84
230228
2749
04:05
criticizing the president,
85
233825
1404
04:07
and questioning the lack
of democracy in Mexico.
86
235856
3454
04:11
In Mexico, from 1929 to 2000,
elections were always rigged;
87
239334
4871
04:16
the incumbent president
would hand-pick his successor.
88
244229
4144
04:20
That's not true democracy.
89
248397
3362
04:23
To me it seemed like a brilliant idea
to expose the president,
90
251783
3005
04:26
but to my boss --
91
254812
1227
04:28
(Laughter)
92
256063
1833
04:29
My boss didn't think
it was such a great idea.
93
257920
2206
04:32
At that time, the presidential office,
Los Pinos, had issued a direct censure
94
260150
3727
04:35
against the media.
95
263901
1474
04:37
My boss, who, aside from being in charge
of the show I worked for,
96
265399
3762
04:41
was also in charge of a soccer team.
97
269185
3855
04:45
I always suspected that he was more
interested in goals
98
273064
2808
04:47
than in the news.
99
275896
1378
04:49
He censured my report.
100
277298
1318
04:51
He asked me to change it, I said no,
101
279130
2121
04:53
so he put another journalist on the story
102
281275
2936
04:56
to write what I was supposed to say.
103
284235
2553
04:59
I did not want to be
a censured journalist.
104
287989
3565
05:03
I don't know where I found the strength,
105
291578
2255
05:05
but I wrote my letter of resignation.
106
293857
1768
05:08
And so at 24 years of age -- just 24 --
107
296152
4306
05:12
I made the most difficult and most
transcendental decision of my life.
108
300482
3372
05:15
Not only did I resign from television,
109
303878
2153
05:18
but I had also decided
to leave my country.
110
306055
2879
05:21
I sold my car, a beat-up
little red Volkswagen,
111
309508
3717
05:25
came up with some money
112
313249
1791
05:27
and said goodbye to my family,
113
315064
1774
05:28
to my friends,
114
316862
1199
05:30
to my streets,
115
318085
1356
05:31
to my favorite haunts -- to my tacos --
116
319465
2089
05:33
(Laughter)
117
321578
1277
05:34
and I bought a one-way ticket
118
322879
2197
05:37
to Los Angeles, California.
119
325100
1522
05:39
And so I became
120
327303
1227
05:41
one of the 250 million immigrants
that exist in the world.
121
329232
4826
05:46
Ask any immigrant
122
334082
1816
05:47
about the first day they arrived
in their new country,
123
335922
2546
05:50
and you'll find that they remember
absolutely everything,
124
338492
2727
05:53
like it was a movie with background music.
125
341243
2058
05:55
In my case, I arrived in Los Angeles,
the sun was setting,
126
343325
3992
05:59
and everything I owned --
127
347341
1741
06:01
a guitar, a suitcase and some documents --
128
349106
2608
06:03
I could carry all of it
129
351738
1861
06:06
with my two hands.
130
354139
1159
06:07
That feeling of absolute freedom,
131
355322
2942
06:10
I haven't experienced since.
132
358288
1781
06:12
And I survived with what little I had.
133
360093
2651
06:15
I obtained a student visa; I was studying.
134
363530
4035
06:20
I ate a lot of lettuce and bread,
because that's all I had.
135
368156
2955
06:23
Finally, in 1984,
136
371135
2079
06:26
I landed my first job as a TV reporter
in the United States.
137
374188
4223
06:30
And the first thing I noticed
was that in the US,
138
378435
4047
06:34
my colleagues criticized --
and mercilessly --
139
382506
2183
06:36
then president Ronald Reagan,
140
384713
1485
06:38
and absolutely nothing happened;
no one censured them.
141
386222
2888
06:41
And I thought:
142
389134
1240
06:42
I love this country.
143
390846
1498
06:44
(Laughter)
144
392368
2934
06:47
(Applause)
145
395326
3372
06:50
And that's how it's been
146
398722
1538
06:52
for more than 30 years:
147
400889
1600
06:55
reporting with total freedom,
148
403361
1930
06:57
and being treated as an equal
despite being an immigrant --
149
405315
2906
07:00
until, without warning,
150
408245
1650
07:01
I was assigned to cover the recent
US presidential election.
151
409919
4575
07:08
On June 16, 2015,
152
416536
3046
07:12
a candidate who would eventually become
the president of the United States
153
420328
4093
07:16
said that Mexican immigrants
154
424445
2986
07:20
were criminals,
155
428448
1598
07:23
drug traffickers
156
431276
1808
07:25
and rapists.
157
433108
1160
07:26
And I knew
158
434292
1184
07:28
that he was lying.
159
436305
1152
07:29
I knew he was wrong
for one very simple reason:
160
437481
2841
07:32
I'm a Mexican immigrant.
161
440346
1512
07:34
And we're not like that.
162
442457
1359
07:35
So I did what any other reporter
would have done:
163
443840
3358
07:40
I wrote him a letter by hand
164
448113
1885
07:43
requesting an interview,
165
451173
1771
07:44
and I sent it to his Tower in New York.
166
452968
2378
07:47
The next day
167
455370
1230
07:49
I was at work,
168
457285
1199
07:50
and I suddenly began to receive
hundreds of calls and texts
169
458508
3573
07:54
on my cell phone,
170
462105
1489
07:55
some more insulting than others.
171
463618
1542
07:57
I didn't know what was happening
until my friend came into my office
172
465184
3497
08:00
and said, "They published
your cell number online."
173
468705
3768
08:05
They actually did that.
174
473608
1445
08:07
Here's the letter they sent
175
475944
3374
08:11
where they gave out my number.
176
479342
2218
08:13
Don't bother writing it down, OK?
I already changed it.
177
481980
2662
08:16
(Laughter)
178
484666
1512
08:18
But I learned two things.
179
486202
1608
08:19
The first one is that you should
never, never, ever
180
487834
3539
08:24
give your cell number to Donald Trump.
181
492309
2865
08:27
(Laughter)
182
495198
2804
08:30
(Applause)
183
498026
3376
08:33
The second lesson was that
I needed to stop being neutral
184
501426
4337
08:37
at that point.
185
505787
1161
08:38
From then on, my mission
as a journalist changed.
186
506972
2681
08:41
I would confront the candidate
187
509677
2622
08:44
and show that he was wrong,
188
512323
1649
08:45
that what he said about immigrants
in the US was not true.
189
513996
3350
08:49
Let me give you some figures.
190
517370
1418
08:50
Ninety-seven percent of all undocumented
people in the United States
191
518812
4170
08:55
are good people.
192
523006
1308
08:56
Less than three percent
have committed a serious crime,
193
524338
2853
08:59
or "felony," as they say in English.
194
527215
1732
09:00
In comparison, six percent of US citizens
have committed a serious crime.
195
528971
4570
09:05
The conclusion is that undocumented
immigrants behave much better
196
533565
5838
09:11
than US citizens.
197
539427
1513
09:12
Based on that data, I made a plan.
198
540964
2844
09:15
Eight weeks after they published
my cell number,
199
543832
3325
09:20
I obtained a press pass
for a press conference
200
548054
2715
09:22
for the candidate
gaining momentum in the polls.
201
550793
3424
09:26
I decided to confront him
202
554242
1537
09:28
in person.
203
556541
1175
09:30
But ...
204
558520
1154
09:32
things didn't turn out exactly
as I had planned; watch:
205
560372
3555
09:37
[Donald Trump Press Conference
Dubuque, Iowa]
206
565529
2902
09:42
(Video) Jorge Ramos: Mr. Trump,
I have a question about immigration.
207
570889
3200
09:46
Donald Trump: Who's next? Yes, please.
208
574113
1866
09:48
JR: Your immigration plan
is full of empty promises.
209
576003
2437
09:50
DT: Excuse me, you weren't called.
Sit down. Sit down!
210
578464
2533
09:53
JR: I'm a reporter; as an immigrant
and as a US citizen,
211
581021
2678
09:55
I have the right to ask a question.
212
583723
1675
09:57
DT: No you don't.
JR: I have the right to ask --
213
585422
2283
09:59
DT: Go back to Univision.
214
587729
1193
10:00
JR: This is the question:
215
588946
1196
10:02
You cannot deport 11 million people.
216
590166
2432
10:05
You cannot build a 1900-mile wall.
217
593008
3163
10:08
You cannot deny citizenship
to children in this country.
218
596195
3685
10:11
DT: Sit down.
JR: And with those ideas --
219
599904
1941
10:13
DT: You weren't called.
220
601869
1152
10:15
JR: I'm a reporter and I have --
Don't touch me, sir.
221
603045
2643
10:18
Guard 1: Please don't disrupt.
You're being disruptive.
222
606093
2598
10:20
JR: I have the right to ask a question.
G1: Yes, in order. In turn, sir.
223
608715
3558
10:24
Guard 2: Do you have
your media credential?
224
612297
2021
10:26
JR: I have the right --
225
614342
1153
10:27
G2: Where? Let me see.
JR: It's over there.
226
615519
2009
10:29
Man: Whoever's coming out, stay out.
227
617552
1730
10:31
G2: You've just got to wait your turn.
228
619306
1842
10:33
Man: You're very rude. It's not about you.
229
621172
2027
10:35
JR: It's not about you --
Man: Get out of my country!
230
623223
2528
10:37
Man: It's not about you.
231
625775
1169
10:38
JR: I'm a US citizen, too.
232
626968
1252
10:40
Man: Well ...whatever.
No, Univision. It's not about you.
233
628244
2677
10:42
JR: It's not about you.
It's about the United States.
234
630945
2639
10:48
(Applause)
235
636275
2913
10:59
(Applause ends)
236
647361
1900
11:02
Whenever I see that video,
237
650951
1835
11:04
the first thing I always
think is that hate
238
652810
3290
11:08
is contagious.
239
656124
1269
11:09
If you notice, after the candidate says,
"Go back to Univision" -- that's code;
240
657417
4290
11:13
what he's telling me
is, "Get out of here."
241
661731
2195
11:15
One member of his entourage,
as if he had been given permission, said,
242
663950
3837
11:19
"Get out of my country,"
243
667811
2395
11:22
not knowing that I'm also a US citizen.
244
670230
2804
11:27
After watching this video many times,
245
675083
2513
11:29
I also think that in order
to break free from neutrality --
246
677620
2994
11:32
and for it to be a true break --
247
680638
1549
11:34
one has to lose their fear,
248
682211
2172
11:36
and then learn how to say, "No;
249
684407
2205
11:38
I'm not going to be quiet.
250
686636
1489
11:40
I'm not going to sit down.
251
688748
1534
11:43
And I'm not going to leave."
252
691079
1349
11:44
The word "no" --
253
692975
1485
11:46
(Applause)
254
694484
4605
11:51
"no" is the most powerful word
that exists in any language,
255
699113
3872
11:55
and it always precedes
any important change in our lives.
256
703009
3272
11:58
And I think there's enormous dignity
257
706305
2193
12:00
and it generates a great deal of respect
258
708522
1930
12:02
to be able to step back
259
710476
1529
12:04
and to push back and say,
260
712029
1611
12:06
"No."
261
714189
1166
12:07
Elie Wiesel -- Holocaust survivor,
262
715379
2582
12:09
Nobel Peace Prize recipient
263
717985
1334
12:11
and who, unfortunately,
we lost very recently --
264
719343
2814
12:14
said some very wise words:
265
722181
2327
12:16
"We must take a side.
266
724532
1409
12:18
Neutrality helps only the oppressor,
267
726956
2516
12:21
never the victim."
268
729496
1151
12:22
And he's completely right.
269
730671
1245
12:23
We journalists are obligated
to take sides in certain circumstances;
270
731940
3842
12:27
in cases of racism,
271
735806
1429
12:29
discrimination,
272
737656
1202
12:31
corruption,
273
739426
1371
12:32
lying to the public,
274
740821
1484
12:34
dictatorships and human rights,
275
742329
1912
12:36
we need to set aside
neutrality and indifference.
276
744265
2927
12:39
Spanish has a great word
277
747796
1976
12:42
to describe the stance
that journalists should take.
278
750320
4039
12:46
The word is
"contrapoder [anti-establishment]."
279
754383
2238
12:48
Basically, we journalists
should be on the opposite side
280
756645
3261
12:52
from those in power.
281
760566
1592
12:54
But if you're in bed with politicians,
282
762182
2574
12:56
if you go to the baptism or wedding
of the governor's son
283
764780
2697
12:59
or if you want to be
the president's buddy,
284
767501
2049
13:01
how are you going to criticize them?
285
769574
1841
13:03
When I'm assigned to interview
a powerful or influential person,
286
771439
3289
13:06
I always keep two things in mind:
287
774752
1749
13:08
if I don't ask this difficult
and uncomfortable question,
288
776525
2744
13:11
no one else is going to;
289
779293
1280
13:13
and that I'm never going to see
this person again.
290
781898
2943
13:16
So I'm not looking to make
a good impression
291
784865
3140
13:20
or to forge a connection.
292
788952
1304
13:22
In the end, if I have to choose
between being the president's friend
293
790280
3243
13:25
or enemy,
294
793547
1158
13:26
I always prefer to be their enemy.
295
794729
2824
13:31
In closing:
296
799181
1166
13:33
I know this is a difficult time
to be an immigrant and a journalist,
297
801340
4894
13:38
but now more than ever,
298
806258
1878
13:40
we need journalists who are prepared,
299
808160
3161
13:43
at any given moment,
300
811345
1571
13:44
to set neutrality aside.
301
812940
1794
13:47
Personally, I feel like
I've been preparing for this moment
302
815357
2838
13:50
my whole life.
303
818219
1154
13:51
When they censured me when I was 24,
304
819397
2286
13:53
I learned that neutrality, fear
and silence often make you an accomplice
305
821707
6670
14:00
in crime, abuse
306
828401
1857
14:02
and injustice.
307
830847
1547
14:04
And being an accomplice to power
308
832418
2025
14:06
is never good journalism.
309
834467
2540
14:09
Now, at 59 years old,
310
837574
2670
14:12
I only hope to have a tiny bit
311
840268
1814
14:15
of the courage and mental
clarity I had at 24,
312
843090
4007
14:19
and that way, never again
313
847121
1473
14:21
remain quiet.
314
849465
1373
14:22
Thank you very much.
315
850862
1268
14:24
(Applause)
316
852154
2639
14:26
Thank you.
317
854817
1183
14:28
(Applause)
318
856024
2000
Translated by Camille Martínez

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Jorge Ramos - Journalist, news anchor
Jorge Ramos's work covers the issues that affect the 55 million Latinos in the United States and immigrants all over the world.

Why you should listen

Jorge Ramos immigrated to the United States from Mexico City, on a student visa at the age of 24. What started as a street beat for a local Spanish-language broadcast in Los Angeles in the 1980s has evolved into a career of remarkable distinction and credibility. Today, Ramos co-anchors Univision's flagship Spanish-language broadcast, “Noticiero Univisión," writes a nationally syndicated column, hosts the Sunday Morning show "Al Punto" and now, the English language program, "America with Jorge Ramos." He is the winner of eight Emmys and the author of eleven books, including Take a Stand: Lessons from Rebels, 2016; A Country for All: An Immigrant Manifesto; and Dying to Cross: The Worst Immigrant Tragedy in American History.

In the absence of political representation in the United States, Jorge Ramos gives a face and voice to the millions of Latinos and immigrants living in the United States. He uses his platform to promote open borders and immigrants' rights and demands accountability from the world leaders he interviews. Nearly 1.9 million viewers tune into his program each night, and in 2015, Time named him one of "The World's 100 Most Influential People."

More profile about the speaker
Jorge Ramos | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee