Jorge Ramos does not sound like a man in his epilogue.
Less than a year after leaving Univision, where he spent nearly four decades as the most recognizable anchor in Spanish-language news, Ramos has won an Emmy for his independent digital show Así Veo Las Cosas, built a fast-growing audience on YouTube and social media, launched a daily Spanish-language podcast, and found one of the rarest luxuries in journalism: the ability to say exactly what he thinks.
For Ramos, that may be the real prize.
"The most wonderful part of all this is the absolute freedom of expression that I have," Ramos told this reporter in a conversation via Zoom. "I am responsible for what I am saying without having to consult absolutely anyone."
The Emmy arrived as a powerful answer to a question many in the industry had quietly asked when Ramos left Univision: Could one of television's most influential Latino journalists survive outside the network machine that had made him famous?
Ramos says the answer is no longer theoretical.
"This Emmy has been very special for me," he said. "First, because it reflects teamwork. But then it validates the effort and the bet we made when we started this program, precisely a year ago." Así Veo Las Cosas was recognized with an Emmy for Best News Program in Spanish, marking a major milestone for Ramos' independent digital venture after his departure from TelevisaUnivision. The project operates across YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and according to industry figures cited after the win, generated 101 million views across platforms in March 2026 alone.
"When we started, we didn't know what was going to happen," Ramos said. "We were seeing what everyone else was seeing, that millions of people are leaving traditional television to look for their news on social media."
He believed journalistic credibility could move from a major media company to a digital platform. The risky part was whether it could happen fast enough.
"We were competing against the big television networks," he said. "For me, it was validation that we are in the right place, that independent journalism can be done, that there are millions of people watching us and choosing us, and that we can compete with and beat the major media organizations."
Ramos has not simply recreated a television newscast online. His new operation has become part news program, part digital newsroom, part commentary platform and part laboratory for what Spanish-language journalism may look like after the anchor desk.
On YouTube, Así Veo Las Cosas has covered immigration raids, the courts, Trump, the war, protests, deportations and Latino political power. Recent episodes have featured interviews and conversations with figures such as Sen. Alex Padilla, former Univision co-anchor María Elena Salinas, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, immigration lawyers, pediatricians, and his own daughter, journalist Paola Ramos.
He also hosts the daily Spanish-language podcast Así Veo Las Cosas and co-hosts The Moment with Paola, a weekly English-language podcast that he described as one of the great joys of this stage of his life.
"If I had retired, I would not have had that opportunity," Ramos said. "Working with your daughter is a true joy. It is something unique, a privilege that does not repeat itself."
Ramos said Paola has pushed him in ways few colleagues can, especially when it comes to language, technology and how younger audiences understand the world. "I realize I have to follow her more than she has to follow me," he said.
The move into independent media also changed the way Ramos describes his own journalism. For years, he was expected to deliver news under the conventions of network television. Now, he says audiences want something more transparent.
"I am pro-immigrant, I am pro-Latino, I am pro-democracy, I am pro-freedom of expression, and I can say it openly," Ramos said. "People now expect a point of view from me. They no longer expect the impartiality I always had in the newscasts."
That line may be the clearest explanation of his second act. Ramos is not saying facts matter less. He is saying audiences have changed. They no longer make a nightly appointment with an anchor at 6:30 p.m. They follow journalists across platforms, in clips, podcasts, reels, newsletters, and livestreams. The relationship is more direct, more personal, and, often, more demanding.
"It was not enough to be an anchor anymore," Ramos said. "The change had to be from anchor to surfer, creating content for different platforms simultaneously."
That surfer now has to know more than TV journalism. Now it's also social media and business models. Ramos admits there has been a learning curve, as he now has to think about legal issues, accounting, staffing, vacations, travel budgets, and whether a story can be covered with one person or several.
"The complicated part for me is the business," he said. Still, the tradeoff is clear.
"If we believe it is necessary to criticize the president, or criticize the government, or criticize other presidents, we do it without any fear," Ramos said.
Fear is not an abstract subject for him. Ramos said journalists often face moments that generate fear, whether in a difficult interview or while covering dangerous situations. The point, he said, is not to pretend fear does not exist.
"You have to recognize it," he said. "I am afraid, and then, even though I am afraid, I am going to do it."
That is also why leaving journalism never appealed to him. Ramos said leaving Univision could have been an exit ramp. Instead, the political climate pulled him back in. "I was not ready to retire," he said. "It was very clear to me that I wanted to keep working and reporting on other immigrants like me."
Immigration remains one of the reasons he stayed in journalism at a time of raids, deportations and attacks against Latinos. "I did not want to stay on the sidelines, silent," Ramos said.
His advice to journalists who have lost jobs or feel pushed out of traditional newsrooms is blunt.
"Open your YouTube channel," he said. "Start reporting from your own personal point of view, with a cellphone."
Ramos knows that advice sounds almost upside down coming from someone whose career was built in television. When he started, he said, it took him 20 years to get where he wanted to be. Today, he believes journalists do not have to wait that long or ask for permission from a network.
The challenge, he said, is survival.
"If we cannot survive economically, we cannot do journalism," Ramos said.
For now, Ramos is thinking about the next big stories. First, he said with a laugh, comes the World Cup. He had recently attended Brazil vs. Morocco in New Jersey and was planning to see another match in Miami with his son. After that, he said, the political calendar takes over: the midterm elections, the balance of power in Congress, and the 2028 presidential race.
"That is why I stayed doing journalism," Ramos said. "That is why I decided not to retire."
One year after leaving the most powerful job in Spanish-language television news, Ramos is no longer just defending his decision. He is presenting it as a model.
The Emmy helped. The audience helped more. But the thing television never gave him, he says, is the thing keeping him in the fight now.
Freedom.
