FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2021
palabra. and NAHJ Welcome Valeria Fernández as Interim Managing Editor
Washington, D.C. – As an organization that strives to bring freelance journalists together to share an accurate and honest representation of the Latino community, palabra. is pleased to welcome Valeria Fernández as the new interim managing editor who will continue to pave the way for more local stories and perspectives that uplift underrepresented communities, as is the palabra. mission.
An immigrant from Uruguay, Fernández started her career in community journalism at La Voz newspaper and later became a freelancer and correspondent for CNN Spanish, Radio Bilingüe and the Associated Press. Since then, she’s achieved success, both academic and professional, and her reporting on immigrant populations,, and people of color has left a profound impact on English-language and Spanish-language audiences and newsrooms alike.
An award-winning investigative journalist, producer, and fellow, Fernández has the drive and background to carry palabra. to new heights. Fernández not only has produced documentaries and reports for Discovery Spanish, CNN Español, Sky TV, Al Jazeera, and PBS, and co-directed the award-winning documentary, “Two Americans,” but also has been published by The Guardian, California Sunday Magazine, Latino USA, 70 Million, PRX’s The World, and the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting. She recently launched and co created the Spanish-language podcast Comadres al Aire, that addresses women’s health issues -including those of queer, trans and non-binary people- in Latinx immigrant communities in the U.S. as a Nieman Visiting Fellow. With her expertise and vast experience in all media platforms, it is not a question of when but how greatly Valeria Fernández will amplify Latinx voices with her new role, and continue her work of improving and increasing the representation of marginalized communities.
When asked about Fernández’s new appointment, Ricardo Sandoval-Palos, founding managing editor of palabra. said, “We started palabra., to create a high-quality platform for independent journalists and creatives from the ranks of NAHJ. I believe we’ve established just that. And now, almost two years after we kicked this off, I can think of no better journalist to lead the editorial team than Valeria. Her professional life has been all about freelancing and storytelling with words and images. She knows what freelancers need to generate the outstanding journalism that has become palabra.’s signature style.”
Her commitment to independent journalism’s role to produce vital storytelling in which people are the heart of the story and policies are challenged sets Valeria Fernández apart, but her goals are centered on more than her own ability to do so, but also on her ability to mentor, aid, and elevate others to do the same.
The winner of the 2018 inaugural Heising-Simons Foundation’s Mosaic award for her independent coverage of underrepresented communities, Fernández recognizes “freelancers have a lot of passion and commitment to their community to persevere with few resources” and claims, “I want to bring that same passion to palabra. and offer our independent journalists the support they need, the pay they deserve and -to the young ones- the mentorship they’ve been looking for. So they continue speaking truth to power and reporting on our Latinx and other marginalized communities in the way they know best.”
With the addition of Valeria Fernández to the team, palabra. proudly anticipates a new era for independent freelance journalists and looks forward to Fernández’s leadership and contribution to the ever-important goal of building a true narrative for the Latinx community.
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About NAHJ
The National Association of Hispanic Journalists is the largest organization of Latino journalists in the United States and dedicated to the recognition and professional advancement of Hispanics in the news industry. The mission of NAHJ is to increase the number of Latinos in the newsrooms and to work toward fair and accurate representation of Latinos in the news media. Established in April 1984, NAHJ created a national voice and unified vision for all Hispanic journalists. NAHJ has over 3,700 members, including working journalists, journalism students, other media-related professionals, and journalism educators. For more information please visit NAHJ.org or follow on Twitter @NAHJ.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder
Veritas Group for NAHJ
512.630.6337
BA@TheVeritasWay.com