Maria Mercader
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Maria Carla Mercader (November 28, 1965 – March 29, 2020) was an American journalist and
news producer {{refimprove, date=October 2008 The news producer takes all the elements of a newscast (packages, video, graphics, etc.) and compiles them into a cohesive show. In the hierarchy of the newsroom, the news producer is under the executive producer, wh ...
who worked for
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
for over three decades. For her work producing a CBS feature report about computer spam, Mercader won a business
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 2004. In 2020, she died of
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
during its pandemic in New York City.


Early life

Mercader was born on November 28, 1965, in New York City to Manuel and Gladys Mercader. She studied at
Dominican Academy Dominican Academy is an American Catholic college preparatory school for girls located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. It was founded by the Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs (now Dominican Sisters ...
, then at the
College of New Rochelle The College of New Rochelle (CNR) was a private Catholic college with its main campus in New Rochelle, New York. It was founded as the College of St. Angela by Mother Irene Gill, OSU of the Ursuline Order as the first Catholic women's college in ...
, where she graduated in 1987.


Career

Mercader started working for CBS News in 1987 as a page in the company's page program, then began her news career at CBS Newspath, where she produced pieces for distribution at CBS' affiliates. She also worked on the network's foreign and national news desks, helping to produce breaking news pieces on the
death of Princess Diana During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz W ...
and the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...
. In 2004, Mercader won an Emmy Award for Business and Financial Reporting for helping to produce "The Little Engine That Could, Spam" a ''
CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...
'' feature report on computer spam. Mercader was appointed as director of talent strategy in 2016 where she helped improve workplace diversity and coordinated CBS News' participation with the
Asian American Journalists Association The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization based in Washington, D.C., with more than 1,500 members and 21 chapters across the United States and Asia. The current president is ...
(AAJA), the
National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, is an American professional association dedicated to coverage of LGBTQ+ issues in the media. It is based in Washington, D.C., and the membership consists primarily of journalists, students, educators, ...
, and the
National Association of Black Journalists The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational and professional organization of African Americans, African American journalists, students, and media professionals. Founded in 197 ...
. She graduated from the AAJA's Executive Leadership Program in Chicago in 2004.


Death

For over two decades before her death, Mercader had numerous illnesses, including cancer. In the last week of February 2020, she took medical leave, then died from the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
at a New York hospital on March 29, 2020.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mercader, Maria 1965 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists CBS News people College of New Rochelle alumni Mercy University alumni Journalists from New York City News & Documentary Emmy Award winners Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in New York (state)