Jacqueline Cardenas has been named Multimedia Journalist/Editor, leading Latino News Network West. They will be based in Northern California.
Cardenas, a recent graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, will oversee Washington Latino News (WALN) and California Latino News (CALN). CALN is scheduled to launch in September.
They is no stranger to LNN, having produced numerous stories for Illinois Latino News (ILLN) in the past two years. Most recently, Jacqueline was the lead reporter on the homelessness awareness campaign focusing on the ‘doubling-up’ population. ‘Doubling-up,’ or when a person temporarily lives with others, is one of the most common forms of homelessness in Chicago experienced by predominantly communities of color.
SUGGESTION: ‘Doubling-up’ Homelessness: Overlooked and Unsupported
(Photo Credit: Jim Vondruska / For the Sun-Times)
“I want the stories I tell to be about the people who made the brave decision to challenge the status quo,” said Cardenas about joining LNN. “The skillful organizers, the disruptive activists, the powerful mothers, the tired teachers, the healers, and the open-hearted criers. My hope is that in sharing their stories, readers can begin to see themselves as capable of changing the course of history for the better and dare to take that first step.”
“It has been a privilege to play a small part in Jacqui’s road to success,” said Hugo Balta, Publisher of LNN. “I am proud of the storytelling they have led and excited to see where their leadership takes our newsrooms.”
Cardenas joins Belén Dumont (LNN East) and Annabel Rocha (LNN Midwest) in working with Balta to develop the eight full-fledged local and national news websites.
Cardenas was first introduced to IL Latino News when they were the editor-in-chief of La DePaulia, DePaul University’s Spanish-language newspaper. One of the first pieces authored by Cardenas, which was republished by ILLN, centered on the Afro-Latino experience.
SUGGESTION: Afro-Latinas stress the complexity of their roots
Cardenas participated in the Covering Race, Ethnicity, and Culture: A Guideline for Fair and Accurate Storytelling fellowship in 2022. Sponsored by the Hortencia Zavala Foundation, the course is designed to go beyond the inverted pyramid of basic news writing in examining the terminology, usage, and word choice of stories providing greater visibility and understanding of deep-rooted inequities in all aspects of society.
Cardenas is a proud Indigenous bilingual journalist who has interned for local publications like Block Club Chicago and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). In 2022, Cardenas was recognized as part of the NAHJ DePaul chapter and was awarded “Student Chapter of the Year” at the Las Vegas NABJ/NAHJ Convention and Career Fair.
Through their reporting, they wish to touch the hearts of many by helping people see parts of themselves in every story. When they are not writing, they said they enjoy dancing around in their kitchen after a long day.
The Latino News Network (LNN) was founded in 2012 by veteran journalist and former president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Diane Alverio.
LNN’s mission is to provide greater visibility and voice to the Hispanic-Latino community, amplify the work of others in doing the same, mentor and provide young journalists with real-world experiences, and apply the principles of solutions journalism in producing stories focused on the social determinants of health and democracy.
