Carlos D. Ramirez (August 19, 1946 – July 11, 1999) was an American

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

who purchased ''

El Diario La Prensa ''El Diario Nueva York'' is the largest and the oldest Spanish-language daily newspaper in the United States. Published by ImpreMedia, the paper covers local, national and international news with an emphasis on Latin America, as well as human-i ...

'' — the oldest

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

newspaper in the United States — from the

Gannett Company Gannett Co., Inc. ( ) is an American mass media holding company headquartered in New York City. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. It owns the national newspaper ''USA Today'', as well as severa ...

in 1989, and succeeded in turning around the paper's longstanding decline in readership and returned it to profitability. Ramirez was born on August 19, 1946, in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, and grew up in

Corona, Queens Corona is a neighborhood in the Borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City. It borders Flushing, Queens, Flushing and Flushing Meadows–Corona Park to the east, Jackson Heights, Queens, Jackson Heights to the west, Forest Hill ...

. He attended

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the colle ...

, where he graduated with a degree in accounting and finance, and was hired by ''El Diario La Prensa'' in 1981 as its comptroller. The Gannett Company had just bought the paper in a deal valued at $10 million. Ramirez worked his way up to serve as the paper's publisher and president.Ravo, Nick
"Carlos D. Ramirez, 52, Publisher of El Diario"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 13, 1999. Accessed October 9, 2009.

''El Diario La Prensa''

''El Diario La Prensa'', the oldest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, was formed in 1968, the result of a merger of ''La Prensa'', founded in 1913 for immigrants from Spain, and ''El Diario'' which started publishing in 1948 for the Puerto Rican community in New York City. Ramirez and his investment group El Diario Associates purchased the paper in 1989 from Gannett for a price just over $20 million. The paper had been unprofitable for as three years and circulation had declined from a peak of 80,000 to under 70,000. In the early 1960s, the paper sold an average of 100,000 copies per day. With the addition of new technology and improved journalism, Ramirez was able to increase circulation to 68,000 by the time of his death in 1999 and to return the paper to profitability. Under his leadership, the paper won as Best Hispanic Daily from the National Hispanic Publishers Association. El Diario Associates joined in 1995 with Latin Communications Group, a firm that operates 18 radio stations, with Ramirez running the business's print division and serving on the board.

Death

A resident of

City Island, Bronx City Island is a neighborhood in the northeastern Bronx in New York City, located on an island of the same name approximately long by wide. City Island is located at the extreme western end of Long Island Sound, south of Pelham Bay Park, and ...

, Ramirez died at age 52 on July 11, 1999 at

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a oncology, cancer treatment and research institution in Manhattan in New York City. MSKCC is one of 72 National Cancer Institute–NCI-designated Cancer Center, designated Comprehen ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

.via ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

''
"Carlos D. Ramirez, La Prensa Publisher"
''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', July 13, 1999. Accessed October 9, 2009. Divorced at the time of his death, he was survived by his fiancée, Pamela Merlo-Balfour, as well as by a daughter Christine, a son David and a granddaughter Angelica Gonzalez.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez, Carlos D. 1946 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Publishers (people) of Spanish-language newspapers in the United States Baruch College alumni Deaths from pancreatic cancer in New York (state) People from City Island, Bronx People from Corona, Queens People from San Juan, Puerto Rico

''El Diario La Prensa''

Death

See also

References