This story has changed how I see my job.
I have anchored the evening news for KMEX, Univision’s Spanish-language local station in Los Angeles, for the last eight years. The first thing that surprised me when I started was the station’s approach to community-oriented journalism. Before coming to Univision, I had a narrower interpretation of television coverage: I saw a journalist’s sole task as reporting the news, not offering guidance to help viewers navigate their daily lives. KMEX has taught me otherwise.
Over my first few months on the job at the city’s most popular network (in any language), I saw my assignment desk colleagues transform calls from our viewers into specific news stories. The plight of a family wrongly evicted became an investigative series. A complaint about pollution turned into a story that uncovered malfeasance by a recycling company. The news team’s commitment, I soon learned, extended into territory that might not be strictly considered journalism but rather a sort of companionship — a mission to offer guidance for a mostly immigrant audience, in need of help navigating their adoptive country. This role also extended beyond TV: We gave the community financial advice, organized education fairs, or promoted free health clinics…
To read the entire article from Slate, click https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/coronavirus-local-news-anchor-kmex-univision-leon-krauze.html
