María Elena Meneses Rocha facts for kids

Quick facts for kids María Elena Meneses Rocha
Meneses in 2012
Born	1 December 1961
Died	14 May 2018 (aged 56)
Known for	Journalism, research in Internet and social media

María Elena Meneses Rocha (born December 1, 1961 – died May 14, 2018) was a Mexican journalist and professor. She was also a researcher who studied media, communication, and the Internet at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City. At the university, she taught classes and led a special research group called the Cátedra Sociedad de la Información. This group focused on studying mass media and new information technologies. She also worked with different types of media, writing and sharing her thoughts on technology for newspapers, TV, radio, and online platforms.

Her Life

María Elena Meneses was married and had two daughters. She lived in Mexico City. Sadly, she passed away in 2018 due to health problems after surgery.

Her Education

María Elena Meneses studied a lot to become an expert in her field. She earned her first degree in communication from the Universidad Iberoamericana. Later, she got a master's degree in political science from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM). She then completed her highest degree, a doctorate, in social and political science, also from UNAM.

Her Journalism Career

María Elena started her career as a journalist. From 1984 to 1993, she worked at Canal 11 in Mexico. She was an anchor, a reporter, and a writer. She even became the main anchor for a news show called Noticiero Enlace.

Later, from 1995 to 2001, she worked as a correspondent for Univision. She reported on important political, economic, and social stories for shows like Noticiero Nacional and ¡Despierta América!. Even after that, she continued to share her knowledge with places like CNN México and the newspaper El Universal. Many news outlets, like BBC Mundo and TV Azteca, interviewed her about social and technology topics because she was an expert.

Her Academic Career

After working as a journalist for twenty years, María Elena decided to try teaching. In 2001, she started teaching part-time at the Tec de Monterrey, Mexico City Campus. She enjoyed teaching, but didn't expect it to become her main job.

However, in 2002, she was offered a big role: director of the journalism and mass media program at the school. She took the job, even though she thought it might only last a few years. But she stayed! In 2008, she became the leader of the Cátedra Sociedad de la Información. This group at Tec de Monterrey does research and gives advice.

Research and Consulting

Her research projects looked at how media, the Internet, and new technologies affect people. She also studied cyberculture, which is about how people behave and interact online. The group also offered advice to governments, non-profit groups (called NGOs), and technology companies. They helped newsrooms learn about new ways to combine different types of media, like video journalism and electronic journalism. Because of her important research, she became a member of the Sistema Nacional de Investigadores, which is a special group for top researchers in Mexico.

Books and Contributions

María Elena Meneses wrote two books. One was called Periodismo Convergente. Tecnología, Medios y Periodistas en el Siglo XXI (2011), which means Convergent Journalism. Technology, Media, and Journalists in the 21st Century. She also helped write another book called Internet y campañas electorales en México. La oportunidad postergada (2009), which was about the Internet and election campaigns in Mexico. She also wrote chapters for many other books that discussed communication and journalism.

Besides her work at the university, she was also involved in other important activities. She helped lead the Virtualis blog for the El Universal newspaper, where she wrote about technology and society. She was also on the board of groups like the Center of Journalism and Public Ethics. She even helped judge important awards, like the National Journalism Prize. In 2013, she was chosen as the president of the Mexican Association of Communication Researchers.

She often spoke at conferences, sharing her knowledge about how information spreads in society, and how the Internet and media work together.

See also

In Spanish: María Elena Meneses Rocha para niños

• List of Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education faculty