Monica says...

A conversation with WMUR anchor Monica Hernandez about life as a journalist and New Hampshire’s growing diversity.

By Robert Cook

Monica Hernandez was beaming with a glow that rivaled her red dress at the WMUR-TV studios in Manchester this summer. She and her husband, Chris Byers, were expecting their first child, a baby girl, in just eight weeks. Her due date was Aug. 24, the same day as her husband’s birthday.

While they know they are having a girl, Monica said they were not ready to announce the baby’s name until after she was born. “We’re keeping it close to the chest until she is born. We have just told some family members,” she said.

As one of the primary anchors on News 9 every evening, Monica is viewed by millions of Granite Staters. She is also the first, first-generation Mexican-American woman to anchor a News 9 broadcast. During a time when New Hampshire’s diversity is growing, Monica believes she is serving the people of New Hampshire in the right place at the right time.

“To be honest, I didn’t know what to expect when I came here. I expected it would be cold, a lot colder than Dallas where I came from. But other than that, I didn’t know a whole lot about New Hampshire,” Monica said. “It had the First in the Nation Presidential Primary, which I was excited to cover.”

But if the 36-year-old Manchester resident had any pre-conceptions about what her life and work in New Hampshire might be like, they quickly gave way to a refreshingly positive vibe with plenty of diversity and inclusion.

Monica Hernandez was still expecting her first child, a girl, when this story was going to press.

“I think you see growing diversity across the state, especially in the southern part of the state, and not just ethnic or racial diversity, but diverse types of people, LGBTQ, and June is pride month,” Monica believes. “I think that New Hampshire still does have a way to go, and you know it can’t happen all at once. It comes in baby steps. But I do think that you are seeing a more diverse group of people, especially in Nashua and Manchester. It is reflected in

the type of food that is sold in supermarkets and the different types of restaurants that keep popping up.”

At WMUR, the station reflects the changing nature of the state with a team that promotes diversity.

“I think WMUR is really embracing the idea that if you have a diverse workforce and people from all walks of life and all different backgrounds working for you, then you get a richer product. You get a better range of ideas,” Monica said.

For the past year, WMUR also highlights a different group of people each month. For example, “Project Community” highlighted the LGBTQ community in June for gay pride month. She said the station has received great feedback, especially from the people they have interviewed who are glad to have their stories told.

Monica anchors the 5 p.m. news hour, the 7 p.m. news, 10 a.m. news and the 11 p.m. newscast.

A typical day at WMUR for Monica begins at 2:30 p.m. A news meeting follows

at 2:45 p.m. concerning the stories and story ideas of the day. Monica often writes for the 4 p.m. broadcast and teases what’s coming on at 5 p.m. “Then I touch up my makeup and hair” before the 5 p.m. newscast. Another meeting follows to go over stories for the 7 p.m. newscast followed by more touch-up for Monica’s hair and makeup and yet another meeting before the 10 p.m. newscast. She has dinner at 8 p.m., another meeting before the 10 p.m. newscast, more makeup and hair touch-up before she anchors the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. The 11 p.m. newscast ends at 11:33 p.m.

“It’s a pretty busy day, non-stop,” Monica said.

But journalism has always been Monica’s first love since she was a little girl growing up near San Diego.

She was eight years old when she knew she wanted to be a journalist. “My mom and I used to watch the news every night,” Monica recalled.

She also read the Mini San Diego Union Tribune, the kids’ newspaper published by the San Diego Union Tribune. “I always loved reading and writing and, as you know, that is the foundation for being a good journalist.”

She later worked on her school newspapers in high school and at Syracuse University in New York. It was then that she decided to change her major to broadcast journalism after she worked at her college TV news station and did an internship at the NBC affiliate in San Diego.

Monica also credits her parents for helping her and her sister maintain their focus on getting an education and pursuing their careers. She recalled that her family lived in a neighborhood where there were frequent drive-by shootings. She said her parents made sure their children did not end up mixing with the wrong crowd and becoming “gangbangers.”

As a young television reporter, Monica spent 10 years covering the Deep South in cities like Jackson, Miss., New Orleans and Dallas. “It was very different than anything I had experienced before. As a journalist, it was a fantastic experience,” she recalled.

I think WMUR is really embracing the idea that if you have a diverse workforce and people from all walks of life and all different backgrounds working for you, then you get a richer product. You get a better range of ideas.”

In New Orleans, Monica spent a great deal of her time covering murders. “There was a lot of crime and a lot of city infrastructure that was not working, but there were also these big festivals where people would come out and celebrate no matter what was happening.”

She said Dallas also had a diverse range of people and stories. “There was always some news that would break and potentially become national news,” Monica added.

Monica also enjoys being a journalist, because a reporter is often a witness to history. She remembers covering the first gay marriage ceremony in Dallas County or witnessing how Jackson, Miss.’s African-American community reacted when former President Barack Obama won the White House in 2008.

“I remember when it was announced on TV that he won. I remember seeing people dropping to their knees and sobbing,” Monica recalled. That moment was so powerful for them because so many of them were in the thick of the Civil Rights Movement and were descendants of slaves who probably thought they would never see this happen, she said.

In 2018, she was feeling a little burned out covering murder and crime in the South. Monica wanted to find a Monday-to-Friday anchor job, and she found her opportunity at WMUR. “It just fit everything I was looking for in my career,” she said.

Her first broadcast was with Tom Griffith for the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. news. Griffith recently retired from WMUR after 35 years, and Monica appreciated working with him.

“He is such a legend. Everybody feels in New Hampshire like they know him. He

was such a mentor to everybody, and he was very humble. It was great working with Tom,” Monica said. She said it was clearly a “passing of the torch” experience when Griffith left in May. “He also felt he was leaving the news station in good hands with the people that were here,” Monica added.

As a first-generation Mexican-American woman, it is not lost on Monica that she reflects the sea of change that is happening in New Hampshire in 2022 and beyond.

“It is meaningful to me to be able to help represent, in kind of a microcosm, what is going in greater New Hampshire; to represent diversity here,” she said.

“It is something that makes me feel very proud now. If there are little girls that look like me and have a similar background, I want them to see that anything is possible, you can be anything that you want to be,” Monica said. “There was actually a girl in high school, she was Hispanic, and her dad reached out to me. She is in college now, and she is doing great. She wanted to be a journalist, so we gave them a tour. I keep in touch with her sometimes. I think it was meaningful for her to see someone with a Hispanic background on TV.”

She is also pleased that her daughter will grow up in a New Hampshire that exemplifies diversity and inclusion for all people. “As a parent for me it is very important for my daughter to be exposed to many different people,” Monica said.

“I think New Hampshire is one of the most family-oriented places I have lived. There is kind of a wholesomeness to the state. The things that make New Hampshire so special are still special.” 603