KSAT Digital Journalist Ivan Herrera has been named the 2022 Media Icon by the San Antonio Pride Center.
Herrera was honored along with other “icons” at a Pride Center ceremony in downtown San Antonio on Sunday, June 12. Winners included Mayor Ron Nirenberg, photographer Julián P. Ledezma, transgender activist Leo Tyler Castillo-Anguiano and Dr. Rev. Naomi Brown.
“I am thrilled to be Pride Center San Antonio’s 2022 Media Icon!” Herrera said. “I have a passion for telling stories about our local LGBTQ+ community and love creating content for our South Texas Pride series. I believe now, more than ever, these stories are so important to help our local community understand that LGBTQ+ people are making their mark in society and showing what we have to offer. I want to thank all the people who have helped me get to this point and supported me throughout my journalism career. I hope to continue making them proud!”
Organizers, including Pride Center Executive Director Robert Salcido, cited Herrera’s work on KSAT’s South Texas Pride Series and his reporting of stories of members of the local LGBTQ+ community. Herrera was presented the award by the 2021 Media Icon Joey Palacios, a reporter for Texas Public Radio.
The South Texas Pride series focuses on discussions of LGBTQ+ politics, resilience, identity, diversity and equality (PRIDE).
“We are so proud of Ivan for this amazing and well-deserved recognition from the Pride Center San Antonio,” said Bernice Kearney, news director at KSAT 12. “Ivan produces strong journalism, including with the South Texas Pride series that focuses on telling the stories — struggles, successes and everything in between — of people in our community. That is exactly the type of community-focused reporting we strive for day in and day out at KSAT.”
Each story focuses on what makes the South Texas LGBTQ+ community resilient, how individuals within that community connect with each other and the greater community at large, available resources and how they and others who offer them assistance are working to improve lives socially, economically, and politically and promote mental and physical wellness within the community.
KSAT reporters and producers who work on South Texas PRIDE make it a point to tell these stories from the perspectives of people in the LGBTQ+ community so as to represent them the way they want to be represented, not from the perspectives of outsiders.
In 2019, KSAT’s SA Live Executive Producer Diana Winters was named the Media Icon by the Pride Center.
Winters, now a board member for the Pride Center, helped found the South Texas Pride series. She praised Herrera’s work in continuing its legacy.
“Ivan has taken this series in a thoughtful new direction and I can’t wait for the next installment. I’m so proud of how he’s grown South Texas Pride at KSAT,” Winters said. “This work is important. Every story told gets us a little closer to compassion and understanding in our community.”
About Ivan Herrera
Ivan Herrera has been a content creator for nearly a decade, with seven years of professional experience working in the Rio Grande Valley and San Antonio television markets.
He has been working in the Alamo City as a digital journalist for KSAT 12 since 2016.
During his time in San Antonio, Ivan has reported on stories ranging from breaking news to featuring local LGBTQ+ community members and organizations in the revamped South Texas Pride Q&A series.
In 2018, Ivan decided to pursue another dream of his by learning about business and obtained his Master of Science in Business from UTSA in 2019 while working full-time as a digital journalist. During that time, he also created the “Money: It’s Personal” series, which aired on the KSAT News at 9 and GMSA at 9. He later revamped the concept to create the digital “KSAT Money Q&A” series and newsletter, focusing on business advice from local leaders and personal finance.
Though originally a transplant to the Alamo City, Ivan considers himself a full-fledged San Antonian nowadays and enjoys living on the North Side with his partner, Michael, and their “fur babies,” Sadie and Leo.
About Pride Center San Antonio
The primary focus of The Center continues to be the primary one-stop-shop organization in south Texas to promote health, wellness, support, education, activities, and advocacy for the local LGBTQ+ community. Between 2020 - 2021, The Center began offering free case management services and has since added group therapy and individual and family counseling. To date, The Center has 4 paid staff members, 6 interns, and many volunteers that work tirelessly to ensure that we are positioned to empower San Antonio and the surrounding area’s LGBTQ+ community.