Univision Communications, Inc. (UCI) has announced that Isaac Lee has been named to the newly created position of chief news and digital officer, with additional responsibilities over Multicultural and Music and maintaining oversight of the News and Digital divisions. Lee will continue to report to Randy Falco, president and chief executive officer of UCI and remains as CEO of FUSION.
As chief news and digital officer, Lee will be responsible for all digital functions across the company — building on the strength of UCI’s online, mobile, digital, content, and music assets to develop an integrated digital strategy. Lee will manage key areas of the company’s growth strategy, including UCI’s comprehensive Multicultural strategy, which includes FUSION, El Rey, Flama and The Root. He will also develop an integrated music strategy that will include UCI’s music tentpole events and alignment with the Company’s Radio programming team. Lee will maintain responsibility for Univision News, including editorial oversight across network, local and digital platforms, backed by the strong team he has built.
“Isaac’s promotion to this newly created position to lead key areas of our growth strategy is a testament to his visionary leadership and tremendous success and underscores how UCI is constantly evolving to meet and exceed the demands of our community, especially digitally-connected millennials,” commented Falco. “Just as Isaac leveraged his creativity and drive to expand Univision News’ position as the go-to source for the stories that matter most to our young, rapidly growing audience, and attracting and retaining strong talent, we are confident that he is the right person to build the reach and influence of our multicultural assets and lead our efforts to develop an integrated music strategy.”
“I am honored to have the opportunity to expand my role at UCI as we work to build upon our news, digital, multicultural and music offerings – key growth areas for the Company – in new and innovative ways,” said Lee. “From politics to pop culture, we will ensure that we have the best content – in English and Spanish, across traditional and digital platforms – that will keep UCI at the forefront of Hispanic America and meet the needs of an even more diverse, multicultural community.”
Lee has been leading journalistic teams for nearly 20 years at prominent publications serving Spanish-speaking audiences in the U.S. and Latin America. He joined UCI in 2010 and most recently held the positions of President of News and Digital for UCI and CEO of FUSION. During his tenure in these roles, Univision News was recognized for its quality journalism and commitment to informing its audience, winning duPont, Peabody, IRE and National Headliner Awards for its investigative reporting, as well as a Cronkite Award and King of Spain International Journalism Awards for Excellence in Political and Digital Journalism among other prestigious journalism, documentary and investigative awards including three Emmys for outstanding investigative reporting, outstanding newsmagazine and outstanding breaking news coverage. Univision News’ outstanding journalism and reporting has also driven audience growth across key demographics.
In 2014, Lee was honored by the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) with their Next Generation Leader Award for the launch of FUSION. In addition, Lee was recognized on the CableFax100 list as a game changer in the cable industry. Prior to UCI, Lee founded and served as chairman and editor-in-chief of influential magazine PODER. Lee currently serves on the board of the Associated Press. He is also a member of the Journalism Board of ProPublica, the Board of the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Board of the International Center for Journalists. He also serves on the Peabody Advisory Board and the Board of Legendary Entertainment.