From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please discuss this issue on the talk page or replace this tag with a more specific message. This article has been tagged since January 2006.

Jacobo Zabludovsky (born Jacobo Zabludowski Kraves May 24, 1928 in Mexico City) is a Mexican journalist. He was the first anchorman in Mexican television and his last TV news program, 24 Horas ("24 Hours") was for decades one of the most important in the country. His brother was the well-known architect Abraham Zabludovsky.

He was the well known anchor man on Televisa, covering several important episodes in Mexico. He was also seen as partial to the government, as the owner of Televisa, Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, openly supported the government party, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, denying coverage to the opposition or news detrimental to the government.

He was the only Mexican reporter on Cuba the day Fidel Castro entered Havana and managed an interview with some Cuban revolutionaries; which he covered from his car telephone, a rare luxury at the time which warranted because of his job at Televisa as on the September 19, 1985 earthquake that destroyed several parts of Mexico City. He has interviewed several important people, including Dalí and María Félix.

In 1998, Zabludovsky stepped down after 27 years as a night time anchor for the news show 24 Horas on Televisa, arguably the most important in the country although ratings had lowered in the last years, as Televisa relation with the government was increasingly seen as too close to be impartial, and this perception passed on to him. The news show disappeared with him, being replaced by a different one. Televisa kept him as host in special programs and editorial chief, but he quit in solidarity of his son, Abraham Zabludovsky, who quit disgruntled after being ignored twice to ocuppy the post of main anchorman his father had held.

After some time he began a radio newscast on a new station, "La 69" at Grupo Radio Centro. This show, named "From 1 to 3", its airing time, quickly scalated to the first place in audience in its timeslot, and has remained so for four years, as of 2005. He transmits the original recording of his coverage of the Mexico City earthquake and of Castro's triumphal arrival to Havana when a new anniversary comes. A fan of tango, he closes his show with one, usually sung by Carlos Gardel. He's a close friend of famed writer Gabriel García Márquez, and was one of the closest friends of deceased actress María Félix.

Many Mexican reporters recognize him as their teacher, including Joaquín López-Doriga and Lolita Ayala. He has received several awards on his career. He is considered an expert in bullfighting and is a member of Mexico's National University Foundation, UNAM; he's also a member of a group concerned with the preservation of the Historic Center of Mexico City.

He is the subject of Molotov's song Que no te haga Bobo Jacobo (Don't let yourself be fooled by Jacobo), were he is accused of receiving bribes by Carlos Salinas and negotiating the news with the government.

He now hosts "La Red" de Radio Red, in the time slot of 1-3 PM. His signature style is laced with historical tango recordings, and his own personal take on the news.

• Entrevista que Jacobo Zabludovsky le hizo a Salvador Dalí en 1971