Fresno Bee reporter named 2021’s Emerging Latina Journalist: ‘I’m incredibly grateful’
This story is part of the Central Valley News Collaborative — a bilingual, community journalism project funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation and with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp. The collaboration includes The Fresno Bee, Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
Fresno Bee reporter Nadia Lopez has been named the Emerging Latina Journalist of the year by CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California.
Lopez covers the San Joaquin Valley’s Latino communities for The Bee and the Central Valley News Collaborative, which also includes Valley Public Radio, Vida en el Valle, Radio Bilingüe and the Institute for Media & Public Trust at Fresno State.
The Emerging Latina Journalist award recognizes a journalist with “great potential, vision and drive,” La Opinion reporter Jacqueline Garcia said during CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California’s virtual journalism conference on Saturday. In announcing the award, Garcia said Lopez’s stories were “unique, insightful, and put a face and voice to the major policy and social changes that face California’s Central Valley Latino community.”
Lopez said she was “incredibly grateful” to earn the recognition.
“There are so many more stories to tell, especially in the Central Valley,” Lopez said during the event. “So many voices have been ignored for a really long time, so I’m happy to be amplifying the voices of the community and to be a part of that on a larger scale.”
Lopez was also named one of the 10 Most Influential Latina Journalists in California this year.
CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California board members, association members and colleagues from across the state submitted nominations for the influential journalists list. Winners were selected based on the quality of their work during the past year, the size and importance of the journalists’ reach, and the arc of their careers, according to CCNMA executive director Mekhalo Medina. From the 10 influential journalists, the organization’s board of directors then selected 2021’s Emerging Latina Journalist and Latina Journalist.
“We’re proud of Nadia and thrilled that she has achieved this honor,” said Joe Kieta, executive editor of The Bee. “Her work illuminates issues important to the future of the central San Joaquin Valley and beyond and adds breadth to The Bee’s coverage. This award is recognition of the impact she’s made.”
Lopez joined The Bee in June 2020. As part of the Central Valley News Collaborative, she has written deeply reported stories about how the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately impacted the Valley’s Latino communities. A bilingual journalist, Lopez frequently joins Radio Bilingüe’s Línea Abierta, a national daily talk show, to discuss her work in Spanish.
The news collaborative is funded by the Central Valley Community Foundation with technology and training support from Microsoft Corp.
CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California is a nonprofit professional organization that aims to promote diversity in the news media, according to its website. It was founded in Los Angeles in 1972 and is the oldest regional organization of journalists of color in the country.
This story was originally published November 15, 2021 at 2:35 PM.