The beginning of Beverly Martinez’s television news career nearly three decades ago could almost be called accidental. Martinez was teaching at Community College of Denver when friend Roger Cisneros, then a lawyer and now a retired judge, encouraged her to apply for a job that had opened up at KWGN-Channel 2.
In response to Reynelda Muse, an African-American, being hired at Channel 4, Channel 2 was looking for a Chicana.
Martinez had no journalism experience. “My training was to be an elementary school teacher,” she says.
But she won the position and became the city’s first Hispanic female television news reporter.
“I fell into this job at a time when they were trying to get minority representation on the air,” Martinez says. “I was a true token.”
Martinez laughs when she recalls how inexperienced she was at first and admits to being terrible at reading news in 30-second sound bites. She figured it out as co-host of Mid-Day Eyewitness News and really came to enjoy interviewing people, which ultimately landed her her own talk show.
On “Denver Now with Beverly Martinez,” she interviewed local and visiting celebrities, including then-bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger and former President Gerald Ford.
“President Ford was down to earth,” she says. “His collar was frayed. It was exciting. He was the president.”
Despite Martinez’s growing confidence and competence, her presence on air wasn’t always appreciated.
Some viewers called or wrote letters to Channel 2 to complain about Martinez’s heritage rather than her job performance.
Martinez insists that although the comments hurt, the bad experiences were outweighed by the good.
“I took an opportunity,” Martinez says. “I worked hard, and I’m having a ball.”
At 60, the Emmy-award-winning journalist still works at the station, now known as CW2, as public relations director and community project producer.
For contributions made to the Denver community, she received the Lena Archuleta Community Service Award and in 1997 was named a “Woman of Distinction” by the Girl Scouts-Mile Hi Council.
Other Latinas who chose television news careers credit Martinez for helping pave the way.
“Beverly is truly a trailblazer in our industry,” said KMGH-Channel 7 anchor Anne Trujillo. “She has had a hand in making it possible for so many of us to follow in her footsteps.”
Martinez, who was born in Rocky Ford and attended Denver Public Schools as well as Trinidad State and Southern Colorado State colleges, says she’s encouraged by the Latino faces she sees in Denver in television news but wishes there were more.
“I turn on the TV and I don’t see the ethnic representation given the market we’re in.”
This story also appeared in Viva Colorado!, The Post’s Spanish-language weekly. A new edition of Viva! appears on newsstands every Thursday.
