By Francisco Romero
Success stories are hardly ever over-night sensations, more-often-than-not involve hard work, passion, dedication, and the willingness to work at getting better at your craft. Chandler resident, José Ochoa is one of those stories, that outside his realm are often overlooked, but need to be told.
Early in February, José Ochoa was named Phoenix’s ABC15 and CW 61 station’s creative services director, replacing longtime director Jim Hart who retired in December.
Creative Services Director is the title, but it does not tell the whole story.
The journey to José’s success began unexpectedly when he was eleven years old. The young boy along with seven siblings and his mother, made the trek from Sinaloa, Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona.
José’s father passed away from a sudden heart attack and the family was forced to move north. Suddenly that eleven-year-old boy found himself as a broadcast student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University (ASU).
Being bi-lingual and bi-cultural helped José start working in the media industry before he finished his degree.
“It was 1995 and I started working at Telemundo in master control and at ABC15 in production at the same time,” José recalls.
“I had a paid internship at ABC 15 that helped me paid for my senior year in college.”
After graduating from ASU, José applied for an opening at ABC15 and has been at the station ever since in many roles.
“I have done a bit of everything,” says José. “I have been a producer, a cameraman, I have
done commercial production, editing, you name it, it has been fun.”
Within the company, José was recruited to join the marketing department, where he has grown as a professional and eventually becoming the creative services director. In this role, Ochoa will oversee the stations’ brand image strategy and execution on all platforms and community outreach programs.
José Ochoa is a multi-Emmy and Promax award-winning producer, photographer, and editor.
“I feel really grateful for this opportunity given to me, but at the same time it is a huge responsibility,” Jose told us.
“I have been working with the ABC15 brand for so many years and we have made it into a very well-liked and trusted brand in the community and we have to keep it that way,” he added.
José’s vision goes beyond his new title as he states the following, “Our job is to make our community a better place to live, that everyone is well-represented, that all voices are heard including those in our Hispanic community that make up more than 30 percent of our population.”
The secret to José ’s success?
“There is no secret,” says José. “It may sound simple, but if you educate yourself, work hard, put in the time and take advantage of opportunities that this country provides, you will succeed.”
One of the last things José mentioned was ABC15’s and CW 61’s responsibility to bring stories to life…But one of the best stories to bring to life is José’s, inside ABC15 and CW 61.
