In 1987, Geraldo Rivera became the first Hispanic to host a nationally syndicated talk show, Geraldo. In both his personal life and his career in the media, Rivera has experienced roller coaster-like highs and lows. After growing up in the mean streets of New York City, Rivera went on to receive some of the most distinguished awards for broadcast journalism, only to suffer a tarnished reputation for pandering to the masses as an exponent of Trash TV.

Geraldo Miguel Rivera, journalist and television personality, was born to a Puerto Rican father and a Jewish-American mother in New York City. Rivera studied at the University of Arizona and the Brooklyn Law School, but received his a law degree from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Law School and a degree in journalism from the equally prestigious Columbia University. As such, he was one of the best-prepared and...