Hey Rick Sanchez! Be Careful With The Liberalism Rocket Fuel!

CNN's Rick Sanchez was happy to toss around reckless allegations about Bill O'Reilly, thereby earning brownie points from Media Matters, but he has been known to toss them back, too.

Now, Sanchez is drinking CNN's 200-proof liberalism juice. Since Rick might be a little out of control in the future, it's worth taking a look at some what's missing from Rick's bio:

MIAMI HERALD

February 12, 1991, Tuesday
TEST: SANCHEZ DROVE DRUNK

BYLINE: BY DON VAN NATTA JR

Blood tests reveal that WSVN-Channel 7 television news anchor Rick Sanchez's blood level exceeded Florida intoxication levels when his car struck and critically injured Jeffrey Smuzinick in mid-December 1990; Sanchez insists test's results are mistaken; Smuzinick remains in coma; photo (M)

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MIAMI HERALD

February 16, 1991, Saturday

SANCHEZ CHARGED, WILL STAY ON AIR

BYLINE: BY DON VAN NATTA JR

Miami (Fla) WSVN-Channel 7 news anchor Rick Sanchez will maintain regular on-air work schedule, despite recent charge of driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident; station says it 'stands behind him'; Sanchez declines comment (S)

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Anchorman charged with DUI

Associated Press

17 February 1991

St. Petersburg Times

A Miami television anchorman has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in a December accident in which police say he left the scene after hitting a man and returned later.

Rick Sanchez, anchor for WSVN, was charged Friday with one count of DUI, a first-degree misdemeanor in the Dec. 10 accident outside Joe Robbie Stadium, prosecutor Kathleen Hoague said.

If convicted, Sanchez faces a maximum of six months in prison and a $500 fine.
A blood test showed Sanchez had a blood-alcohol level that night of .15 percent. A person with a .10 level is considered legally drunk in Florida.

The man Sanchez hit was critically injured and remains in a coma at North Shore Hospital.

Ms. Hoague said Friday that she thinks Sanchez was driving drunk at the time of the accident, but prosecutors decided not to charge him with causing bodily injury while driving drunk, a third-degree felony.

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Miami New Times (Florida)

March 04 ,1992

New Times and the Law

For the past 37 years the Florida Bar has honored media organizations for " outstanding journalism aimed at increasing public understanding of the system of law and justice in America, particularly in Florida." In Tampa this past Saturday, New Times was presented with one of four Florida Bar Media Awards for 1991.

The statewide competition is open to all print and broadcast media. WEVU- TV of Bonita Springs won in the television category and WUSF-FM of Tampa won for radio. Two newspapers with circulations under 50,000 shared top honors: the Winter Haven News Chief and the Gadsen County Times of Quincy. New Times was the winner among publications with circulation greater than 50,000.

Submitted for the judges' consideration were six New Times stories published in 1991:

* Staff writer Sean Rowe's "The Accident, the Investigation, the Questions" (January 16) examined the unusual actions of local police following an accident in which a pedestrian was severely injured after being hit by a car. The driver of the car was Channel 7 news anchorman Rick Sanchez, who later pleaded no contest to a charge of driving while intoxicated.

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Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)

May 13, 2002 Monday Broward Metro Edition

SANCHEZ HITS STRIDE AT MSNBC; FORMER CH. 7 ANCHOR IS IN FAST COMPANY

BYLINE: Tom Jicha TVRadio Writer

Rick Sanchez isn't anticipating a Rookie of the Year Award for his first season in the big leagues of TV news. But the brash former anchor for WSVN-Ch. 7 says he's no Mighty Casey, either, whiffing in his big opportunity.

It was a year ago that Sanchez, an ardent baseball fan, announced he was leaving South Florida to take a job at MSNBC to see if he "could hit major league pitching." His first couple of swings on a national stage were a humbling experience. "I struck out an awful lot," he acknowledges.

His detractors, who would relish seeing him fall on his face, shouldn't be leaping to their feet with glee, however, Sanchez says. "I'm hitting it pretty good lately."
He has been tapped on several occasions to step up to even a higher level, filling in for NBC newsbreaks. He did them during last summer's Wimbledon tennis championships, and he also was on call when President Bush choked and fainted. "I got a lot of air time then," Sanchez says. "I got to debrief [NBC correspondent] David Gregory at the White House."

His familiarity with this region also led Dateline NBC to assign him to interview one of the survivors of the anthrax mailings in Palm Beach.

Several factors are responsible for the turnaround, not the least of which is overcoming rookie jitters. Anxious to make a good impression, he was initially over-preparing for interviews. "I would write down 52 questions to ask and I was so intent in asking them that I missed opportunities for obvious follow-ups. One thing I've developed is a real respect for people like Bill O'Reilly and Larry King, who have a knack for always asking the question a viewer would."

Just watching how the masters do it has helped him, Sanchez says.

He's obviously elevated his game. He's a nominee for an ALMA Award, a prestigious national prize for Hispanics in media, and he's in some in pretty fast company. The other nominees in his category are Soledad O'Brien, Meredith Viera and Geraldo Rivera.

Sept. 11 also hastened his transformation to feeling like a real part of his new team. He was in makeup preparing for his normal shift when the first plane hit. His instincts immediately took hold. "I ran into the control room and said, 'Send me there.' I just got out of the car when I saw the first building crumbling down."
He didn't leave Manhattan for five days. "The first day I was on the air for 20 hours. It was a lot like Hurricane Andrew. You would grab a short catnap here and there, then go back to work."

Perhaps the biggest boost Sanchez got came from a most unlikely source. Curmudgeonly Don Imus has become fond of him and has made him an extended member of his program, which is simulcast on MSNBC. "Can you imagine a radio talk show host who actually likes me," Sanchez says, a wry reference to the beating he took -- actually, continues to take -- from Neil Rogers.

Sanchez, whose regular MSNBC shift is 9 a.m. to noon, connected with Imus while doing news cut-ins during the simulcast. "It was typical Imus at first," Sanchez says. "He'd ask, 'Who's this big, fat jerk doing the news?' I figured the best thing to do was to play along, so I asked his producer to put me on with him. I just had fun, doing an exaggerated Spanish accent and things like that.' He must have liked it because now he uses me a lot."

Sanchez figures his future also brightened when NBC bought the Telemundo network. "I'm one of the few people, who, when big stories break, could move comfortably between the English and Spanish networks. I think that makes me really valuable to them."

The same traits also have him well-positioned for a major role in what could be the first colossal news story of the 21st century, the inevitable turmoil when Fidel Castro passes from the scene. "I salivate about that," Sanchez says. "It's the huge story I've been preparing all my life for. Who else has the sense of perspective and background I will bring to that story?"

However humbling his early days in the big leagues might have been, he has obviously gotten over it.

^^^

And so belated admiration to digging reporter Sean Rowe, and best wishes to victim Jeffrey Smuzinick.