Contestant: Jorge Imbaquingo

As the son of a sports journalist, Jorge Imbaquingo developed a deep passion for the profession. At 18, he wrote about a retiring soccer player, which led the editor of Ecuador’s leading sports magazine, Revista Estadio, to offer him a job. For three years, Imbaquingo juggled college studies and sports reporting, learning to write entertaining stories about sports heroes. Then, the sports section of the newspaper HOY hired him. After leading the section’s coverage of the 2002 World Soccer Championship, Imbaquingo moved to politics, writing about Ecuador’s presidential campaign.

In late 2002, he joined the sports section of Ecuador’s largest and most influential newspaper, EL UNIVERSO. A few years later, he jumped at the chance to start the newspaper’s first investigative unit. He reported on a wide range of subjects, including bank fraud and court scandals. In 2008, he returned to HOY as managing editor. In addition to coordinating and planning the newspaper’s daily coverage, he also has led several investigations.