Cecilia Vega | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 7, 1977 |
| Alma mater | American University |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
Cecilia Marcellina Vega (born January 7, 1977) is an American journalist and correspondent for 60 Minutes . She previously worked at ABC News, serving as the network's Chief White House Correspondent and co-anchoring Good Morning America . [1] [2]
Vega is the daughter of Janis and Raul Vega. [3] She along with her brother were raised in the East Bay area. [3] Her father abandoned the family after becoming addicted to drugs (he reconnected when Vega was in her 20s but died soon after). [3] Her mother worked for the University of California. [3] In 1995, Vega graduated from Salesian High School in Richmond, California. [4] In 1999, she graduated from the American University School of Communication in Washington, D.C. [5] She is of Mexican descent. [6]
In 1999, Vega started out as a newspaper journalist for the San Bernardino Sun , the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and then the San Francisco Chronicle [3] where she covered the then-Mayor Gavin Newsom's administration. Her reporting received accolades from the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the East Bay Press Club, and the Hearst Corporation. [7]
In 2007, she switched to broadcast media as a reporter for the local ABC television station KGO-TV in San Francisco. [8] In 2010, Vega won a Northern California Emmy Award for the Best Daytime Newscast in a Large Market. [9]
Vega joined the national ABC News in 2011 as a Los Angeles-based correspondent. [10] In 2012, Vega covered the elections and second inauguration of President Barack Obama. [11] She also covered the 2016 presidential election and the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. During her time as a national correspondent, Vega covered numerous stories, including the Fukushima power plant disaster, the appointment of Pope Francis, the 2014 Ebola epidemic in the United States, the Sony computer hacking, and the 2016 Summer Olympics. [8]
On March 2, 2015, she became the anchor for the Saturday edition of World News Tonight , with Tom Llamas anchoring the Sunday edition. [12] In January 2017, Llamas was named the full-time weekend anchor of World News Tonight, while Vega was moved to become the senior White House Correspondent. [13]
On October 1, 2018, during a press conference about the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), U.S. President Donald Trump called on her to ask him questions. He then joked at Vega's surprised reaction, stating: "I know you're not thinking. You never do." [14] Vega brushed aside the remark, and asked Trump about the FBI investigation into then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Trump declined to answer, stating the question was unrelated to the trade deal. Vega later tweeted: "A news conference means you get to ask whatever question you want to ask. #FirstAmendment." [14]
In January 2021, Vega was named as the Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News, succeeding Jonathan Karl. [15]
On January 19, 2023, it was reported that Vega was joining CBS News as a correspondent for 60 Minutes . [16] [17] Her hiring made Vega the first Latina correspondent for the program. [18] Vega's first story was about sperm whales, which aired on May 14, 2023. [19]
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists and California Chicana News Media Association Latina Journalists of California named Cecilia Vega the 2024 National Latina Journalist of the Year. [20] [21]
She lives in Washington, D.C. [22]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)Being Latina, being Mexican American, those are things about my background that I bring with me and I can't wait to show that part of me in my stories.
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