Montclair Students Team Up with Alumna Odalys Molina and Telemundo 47 to Create Documentary about the Station’s 60th Anniversary

Montclair School of Communication and Media students taking a new course this semester, News Lab en Español, are collaborating with Telemundo 47 / WNJU to create a mini-documentary commemorating the station’s 60th anniversary. The documentary will premiere on Monday, April 21 at Celebrating Telemundo 47 at 60 in SCM’s Presentation Hall, and will be available  on demand on the university’s student-run streaming platform, Hawk Plus. 

Under the guidance of Montclair Alumna and Telemundo 47 News Anchor and Reporter Odalys Molina and Professors Mark Effron and Vernard Gantt, students Adarlin Batista Núñez, Rubi Capellan, Monserrat Nava, Dani Mazariegos and Jennifer Sanchez have conducted dozens of interviews and poured through hundreds of hours of archival footage to create the film. The students already realize what this unique and rare opportunity means for their career development and portfolios, and how the experience has expanded their networks and bolstered their confidence. 

“Odalys Molina has guided us every step of the way, ” said Sanchez, a senior Journalism and Digital Media major and senior producer for the project. “Working on this documentary has been a rewarding process of honoring 60 years of legacy, family, and history. This course gave us a unique opportunity to collaborate with Telemundo 47, a channel that represents so many Hispanic and Latino communities.”

“This class has been an incredible opportunity to level up my storytelling and multimedia journalism skills,” said Nava, a junior Journalism and Digital Media major.  “The documentary has provided hands-on experience in every part of the process, from research to editing; I am loving every minute of it! Growing up in Mexico, I spent countless hours watching Telemundo, admiring how they told stories and connected with their audience. Now, being part of this documentary and telling their story feels like an amazing full-circle moment.”

“This experience has taught me how to expand and showcase my reporting skills and how to better connect with people,” said Batista, a senior Journalism and Digital Media major.  “Being able to study and tell the history of a channel that represents us, Hispanics/Latinos, and to see how much we’ve grown through this process has been one of the most rewarding things during my Montclair journey.”

Molina is thrilled to return to campus each week to lead the students as she shares her reporting skills and storytelling expertise. “I am a proud Red Hawk, so to have this amazing opportunity to give back to the University by mentoring a bright, talented and motivated group of students means the world to me,” she said. “It’s incredible how the University and School of Communication and Media have evolved, so to work with such a great group of students in these world class facilities to produce a project that will be seen by millions of our viewers is such a thrill.”

Montclair Alumna and Telemundo 47 Anchor and Reporter Odalys Molina (left), along with students Adarlin Batista Núñez and Rubi Capellan Bonifacio review footage for a documentary the students are creating. 

The April 21 event, which is free and open to the Montclair community and general public, will also feature a panel discussion led by Molina.  Legendary Telemundo 47 Anchor Jorge Ramos, Montclair’s Associate Provost for Hispanic Initiatives and International Programs Dr. Katia Paz Goldfarb and Stefanie Murray, Director for SCM’s Center for Cooperative Media will discuss the station’s legacy and impact on the tri-state area and the future of Hispanic media.  The event is free and open to the Montclair community and general public.  Anyone interested in attending must register via this link. 

News Lab en Español, the event on April 21 and the creation of the documentary are part of a formal partnership created in 2023 among SCM, Telemundo 47/WNJU and NBC 4 New York/WNBC. Students benefit from special events with station executives, guest speakers in the classroom, internship opportunities and other unique programs like this to create dynamic media content and accelerate students’ learning and career opportunities. 

 “It’s been an amazing collaboration,” said Prof. Effron. “Our students are skilled content creators, but for them to work directly with Telemundo’s flagship northeast station on creating a mini-documentary is an experience on another level. They are working with –and learning from–the best in the business.”

“Our faculty, staff and leading industry partners like our friends at Telemundo 47 work collaboratively to provide hands-on learning opportunities that can’t be found elsewhere,” said Dr. Keith Strudler, Dean of the School of Communication and Media. “This event and premiere of the mini-documentary celebrating the 60th anniversary of Telemundo 47 will be one of the highlights of our academic year.”

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About the School of Communication and Media: The School of Communication and Media offers a range of dynamic programs in communication and media to a talented and diverse student population of over 2,000. Offering degrees in film and television, social media and public relations, advertising, journalism and digital media, sports communication, communication and media studies, animation and visual effects, and an MA devoted to strategic communication, the School prepares the next generation of communication and media practitioners and leaders. The School houses award-winning student programs that include WMSC Radio, The Montclarion newspaper,  Hawk Communications Agency, the Red Hawk Sports Network, Hawk+ OTT streaming platform, and News Lab, as well as the Center for Cooperative Media, which serves the public by working to grow and strengthen local journalism. Student projects and programs have recently received national recognition from PRSSA’s Bateman Competition, an Edward R Murrow Award, several Marconi Award nominations, and a College Television Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

About Telemundo 47 / WNJU: Telemundo 47 / WNJU is NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo station with more than 50 years of service to the Spanish-speaking communities of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Featuring Emmy® Award-winning journalists and offering more than 27 hours of locally-produced programming each week, the station includes the New York market’s only team of bilingual meteorologists, La Autoridad en El Tiempo who are certified by WeatheRate for delivering the Tri-State’s most accurate Spanish-language television forecast. Their Telemundo Responde investigative unit has recovered more than $2 million to date, with Telemundo 47’s public affairs program Enfoque Nueva York shining a weekly spotlight on the policy issues and local concerns most important to viewers. 

Telemundo 47 provides news and information across all platforms, including the Telemundo 47 App, dedicated Roku and Apple TV channels, and across social media. The Tri-State’s Spanish-language broadcasting channel for soccer, Telemundo 47 will offer exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the 2022 and 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup™ tournaments and the 2025 FIFA Women’s World Cup™ tournament. For more information about Telemundo 47, visit Telemundo47.com.

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Story by Keith Green, School of Communication and Media