The news director and the executive producer for the Telemundo Las Vegas have been removed from their positions.
ND Xochitl Sandoval and EP Javier Palmera were both ousted Friday, August 24.
Sandoval, a Telemundo employee who held multiple senior roles within the company in Dallas and Las Vegas since 2003, had been news director in Las Vegas since February 2014.
Palmera joined Telemundo Las Vegas as EP in March 2017. He had previously worked as a producer for WFLA-TV and WRMD Telemundo Tampa.
A station spokesperson issued the following statement about their exit:
“Xochitl Sandoval and Javier Palmera have decided to leave Telemundo Las Vegas. We are thankful for their commitment to Telemundo Las Vegas and wish them the best in their future endeavors.”
However, several sources with knowledge of the situation tell Media Moves that employees reported multiple complaints against Sandoval and Palmera alleging harassment and actions that created a “hostile working environment.”
The sources say conditions worsened after a group meeting with a national HR rep in April in which staffers voiced their concerns. The situation got so bad, they say, that within a month and a half period, five employees quit. In all, at least 9 on-air talent and producers opted to leave the station over the past year, some of whom did so without first securing another job.
In an internal memo sent to staff, SVP of News for Telemundo Station Group Ozzie Martínez said he would be heading the news department until a replacement is hired.
Media Moves reached out to Sandoval and Palmera for comment. Both emailed individual statements about their exit after publication of this story.
“I am nothing but proud of my work at Telemundo Las Vegas and although I am disappointed by the rumors and inaccuracies of my departure, I am nothing but grateful to the company that for 15 years allowed me to do what I so passionately love and that since day one and until I my last day of work extended endless opportunities of growth. It truly was time to take a break and spend much needed time with my family, loved ones and explore new opportunities in our business,“ wrote Sandoval.
Palmera issued this statement: “Change does not come easy and this made for some difficult times between groups of employees but at no point did it become what is being said. I am very sad that my good intentions and efforts to guide the team and help them become better (which have proven successful in other markets) are being misinterpreted. KBLR is a station at growth, everyday becoming better and stronger, and I am thankful for the opportunity I was given to work with the team. The station, it’s employees and the company will always have a special place in my heart.”
* Story was updated August 30 to include statements by Sandoval and Palmera.
Justice, finally. Kinda late btw. Were they blind or deaf ?
Therefore, will the now gone employees be able to re apply to their jobs ?
eso me recuerda a Sara Suarez de News Director from Univision ,Boston.
very bad ,very bad News Director.
ademas de mala persona con su personal.
Rumors are ND Pedro Calderon and EP Victor Tafoya from Telemundo San Diego could be next after several complaints and people leaving the station since even before the launch.
That was very well known since Calderon’s Denver years.
How come Corporate did not know about this, -if-, and allowed him to return to California ?
“hostile working environment.”
…. Ingrid liquetta
…. Sara Suarez
…..Pedro Calderon
…..Andrea Ospina
Summit your candidate
As La Diva Del Bronx would say:
Y lo de Houston pa’ cuando?
No please, don’t bring Ospina back to this page.
Another 60 plus comments ?
I have work to do !…cant be coming here every 5 minutes to keep up with the updates !
Anyone but, Ospina no for Christ sake !
Houston esta igual o pior que Vegas. 2 NP despedido sin motivo. Ya renuncio Martin Berlanga, el ancla principal y la de clima
Abuse?! Harassment?! Mistreatment?!… Business ‘as usual’ in Latino/Hispanic TV & Media. It’s sad that for decades that has been the norm among the top Execs -and others that think are so important too…- in the Latino TV and Media. It’s ironic how these News Execs inundate their news coverage talking about all that abusive and discrimination against hispanics here, especially blaming Republicans and Conservatives with their biased coverage (even if in the majority of the cases it’s not true), when they themselves are the worst in their mistreatment against their very own in the news stations! No one should be treated like that, especially when regardless of high ratings, their staff is typically doing twice of what the English language station employees do and for less.
Univision is even worse. Good thing that at least “FINALLY” Telemundo seems to be doing something about this… I wonder what happened and if they will really change this ‘abusive’ culture…
And what about Univision and others that do the same? Will this be some sort of ‘wake-up’ call?…!
I wish there was a like button for your comment. Talk about the duopolies where your nbc mates with less experience are making more $$$ than you, with less work. And they sit a few feet away from you.
Yes! Y Houston pa’ cuando?
How about the disrespectful, harassing, unprofessional News Director Jerry and GM Tony Canales
At least both of them in a big plot with Human Resources Olga Aldape.
Maybe this is why the situation in Houston hasn’t surface?
What really happened to Carlos Tamez? Did they outs him to “hide” something bigger? (not that he was any better).
Higher ups do not need to waste much time to discover many many discrepancies, harassment and violations.
Me sorprende escuchar todos estos comentarios tan negativos de una empresa tan seria como Telemundo, quiero pensar que los altos ejecutivos no estan enterados, de lo contrario, que caso tiene que digan que “ estamos con la comunidad”, estan igual que el Canal 34 de Univision Los Angeles, promocionando una cosa y haciendo otra.
He oido hablar pestes del director de noticias de Telemundo Houston y San Diego, ojala le empresa tome accion, parece que hay mas abusos dentro de estos que trabajos que en la gente que trabajo en el campo.
Bueno y ahora que todo esto “sale a la luz”.
Los dos señores Martinez, harán algo para solucionar esos dolores de cabeza de una buena vez?
People will complain but I would like to know how truth this is.
Why are we ruining someone’s career with a “source” how many sources were interviewed? How many people that have worked with them in other cities Can say the same? You should identify yourself and if you believe you are a victim. SPEAK with your name and examples. I’ve work with some of the names here mentioned. Some are true and I reported it through the right channel. But someone like xochil that has worked in many places and has never been accused of that. I know she was always good to me and motivated me. People show also say good things or bad things about people that names were mentioned. To be fair.
To be fair, you shouldn’t talk about something you don’t even know about. Miss X. Sandoval is the most evil, perverse, Maquiavelic, self-centered, arrogant, rude, ignorant, unprepared employee of that company. The ND title fits too big on her.
Then, she brings on board a mini-me version of herself, on J. Palmera. A profesional harraser, disrespectful, lazy individual that shows up for work just to be looking his Facebook page, travel in company budget and make the rest of employees life, just miserable. Discussing and imposing words of a language he is not even proficient on, which is Spanish. As a matter of fact, neither Sandoval knows correct Spanish, to say the least of her.
With those two gone, now the station needs to pose his eyes on Andrés, a guy that every single day arrives at the beginning of his shift, food in hand, to waste a full hour in his desk eating, listening to the work conversations of producers and reporters -whom by that time are in crunch time- interrupting them, inserting his opinions on every single story and subject and picking a fight with them. He is a “know it all”, which was promoted by X. Sandoval as Operations Manager, but when a technical problem arises the first thing he says is “ I don’t know, don’t ask me, I am not an engineer”. How he got that position? He is an unconditional “ear” in the newsroom, protected by Sandoval.
BTW: After both Sandoval and Palmera were ousted, he was the one who told employees that both of them were prohibited to enter the premises. That if they showed up they shouldn’t let them in. ***Cría cuervos***.
Pues muy bien que estén haciendo “limpia” de ejecutivos inútiles, monetariamente incosteables y que productivamente hablando, son un fraude.
A ver cuando llega la mano de la justicia a Univisión Dallas, donde trajeron a una ND que no sabe español, que viene de una estación en inglés donde su puesto no tiene nada que ver con ser director de noticias y que toma decisiones a lo estupido. Donde solapa los abusos a los empleados y a un EP que tiene en su haber acusaciones ante HR de acoso sexual, que no conoce absolutamente nada de los personajes políticos del país, ni tiene criterio periodístico y cuya única virtud es que trabaja desde hace años en esa estación y que costaría mucho dinero a la compañía correrlo.
Por algo TELEMUNDO Dallas les está comiendo los ratings. Bien merecido.
No te preocupes Michael. Telemundo dallas es otro desastre que tiene como patrones a una serie de ociosos que trajeron desde CA. Esa estación está destinada al fracaso. Han probado de todo y nada les funciona. Estoy segura que si les va bien – por ahora – es por las novelas de la noche.
Pero cuente, ande, echela todita.
Qué me le hicieron los chamos, a ver.
Ó es pura mala leche ó venganza tierrúa. Diga, queremos novelón.