Carlos D. Ramirez
Encyclopedia
Carlos D. Ramirez was an American
publisher who purchased El Diario La Prensa
— the oldest Spanish-language
newspaper in the United States — from the Gannett Company
in 1989, and succeeded in turning around the paper's longstanding decline in readership and returned it to profitability.
Ramirez was born on August 19, 1946, in San Juan, Puerto Rico
, and grew up in Corona, Queens
. He attended Baruch College
, where he graduated with a degree in accounting and finance, and was hired by El Diario La Prensa in 1981 as its comptroller. The Gannett Company had just bought the paper in a deal valued at $10 million. Ramirez worked his way up to serve as the paper's publisher and president.
community in New York City..
Ramirez and his investment group El Diario Associates purchased the paper in 1989 from Gannett for a price just over $20 million. The paper had been unprofitable for as three years and circulation had declined from a peak of 80,000 to under 70,000. In the early 1960s, the paper sold an average of 100,000 copies per day.
With the addition of new technology and improved journalism, Ramirez was able to increase circulation to 68,000 by the time of his death in 1999 and to return the paper to profitability. Under his leadership, the paper won as Best Hispanic Daily from the National Hispanic Publishers Association.
El Diario Associates joined in 1995 with Latin Communications Group, a firm that operates 18 radio stations, with Ramirez running the business's print division and serving on the board.
, Ramirez died at age 52 on July 11, 1999 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
in Manhattan
from pancreatic cancer
. Divorced at the time of his death, he was survived by his fiancee, Pamela Merlo-Balfour, as well as by a daughter, a son and a granddaughter.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publisher who purchased El Diario La Prensa
El Diario La Prensa
El Diario la Prensa is the largest and oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in New York City, and the oldest Spanish-language daily in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-interest...
— the oldest Spanish-language
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
newspaper in the United States — from the Gannett Company
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
in 1989, and succeeded in turning around the paper's longstanding decline in readership and returned it to profitability.
Ramirez was born on August 19, 1946, in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, and grew up in Corona, Queens
Corona, Queens
Corona is a densely-populated neighborhood in the former Township of Newtown in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States...
. He attended Baruch College
Baruch College
Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...
, where he graduated with a degree in accounting and finance, and was hired by El Diario La Prensa in 1981 as its comptroller. The Gannett Company had just bought the paper in a deal valued at $10 million. Ramirez worked his way up to serve as the paper's publisher and president.
El Diario La Prensa
El Diario La Prensa, the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, was formed in 1968, the result of a merger of La Prensa, founded in 1913 for immigrants from Spain, and El Diario which started publishing in 1948 for the Puerto RicanPuerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
community in New York City..
Ramirez and his investment group El Diario Associates purchased the paper in 1989 from Gannett for a price just over $20 million. The paper had been unprofitable for as three years and circulation had declined from a peak of 80,000 to under 70,000. In the early 1960s, the paper sold an average of 100,000 copies per day.
With the addition of new technology and improved journalism, Ramirez was able to increase circulation to 68,000 by the time of his death in 1999 and to return the paper to profitability. Under his leadership, the paper won as Best Hispanic Daily from the National Hispanic Publishers Association.
El Diario Associates joined in 1995 with Latin Communications Group, a firm that operates 18 radio stations, with Ramirez running the business's print division and serving on the board.
Death
A resident of City Island, BronxCity Island, Bronx
City Island is a small island approximately 1.5 mi long by .5 mi wide. At one time attached to the town of Pelham, Westchester County, it is now part of the New York City borough of the Bronx. As of the 2000 census the island had a population of 4,520. Its land area is 1.023 km²...
, Ramirez died at age 52 on July 11, 1999 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
. Divorced at the time of his death, he was survived by his fiancee, Pamela Merlo-Balfour, as well as by a daughter, a son and a granddaughter.