Benny Martinez
"Benny Martinez is originally from Espanola, NM. He studied Journalism, Mass Communications (Broadcast Journalism) and Spanish. He interned at New Mexico PBS from June 2007 – August 2009. "During my time at NMPBS, I learned and worked in all facets of the station. As an intern, I ran the studio and JIB cameras for NM in Focus and The Line, and operated the audio mixer during taped and LIVE broadcasts. Under the instruction of the NMPBS Staff, I learned and worked as a Technical Director, staffed LIVE uplinks for MSNBC, ESPN, and more. Working at NMPBS provided me with a solid foundation for a career in broadcast.
'After my time at NMPBS and UNM, I moved to Washington, D.C. in January 2010 to work as a Congressional Correspondent for a national radio news feeder service, covering the daily proceedings of both houses of Congress. As a feeder service, part of the job included filing stories online and calling in to local radio stations across the country to provide them with a LIVE update on news from inside the Beltway. In 2012, I traveled across the country covering each of the presidential debates, the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL, and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Shortly after the election, I left my job as a journalist and began a career in public relations. I’m currently an Associate Account Executive at Strauss Media Strategies where we provide an variety of clients with radio and television outreach campaigns. I chose to switch careers because of the political discourse in Washington, D.C. The extreme partisanship gave news outlets something to report on, but the redundancy and endless bickering made me realize that the gig wasn’t for me. I enjoy public relations because I’m able to interact with clients and work with them to help achieve the goals that they’ve set for themselves.'"