John M. Quiñones
Television journalist
Born: San Antonio, Texas

John Quiñones, a six-time Emmy Award winner, is a correspondent for ABC News' Primetime Thursday who co-anchored the newsmagazines 20/20 Downtown and Primetime Monday. Throughout his career, he has exposed injustice and wrongdoing around the world.

“My mother taught us that no matter what side of the tracks we lived on, we could be a success at whatever we tackled. Because of that, I never thought that I wasn't going to make it. Besides, real success has nothing to do with money or cars or houses. It comes from within.”

At the age of twelve,Quiñones along with his family picked cherries in Michigan and tomatoes in Ohio. He remembers kneeling in the dew at five in the morning and facing what looked like 10 miles of tomato plants. Quiñones knew then that he wanted to do something with his life.

“It was always my dream to go into broadcasting. I love telling stories. That's what I do. I'm a storyteller.”

John M. Quiñones, television journalist. Photograph by Luis Mallo, taken at a restaurant, San Antonio, Texas

Since joining ABC News in 1982, Quiñones has traveled the globe, covering subjects as diverse as the Challenger disaster, homeless children in Bogota, and the Dalai Lama. Because of his roots, his heart remains with stories that affect his community and culture. Still, he considers himself a “reporter who happens to be Hispanic,” not a “Hispanic reporter.”

“I see myself much more as a creature of the universe, a son of the world. Visiting other countries, other cultures, I see how similar we all are.”