Mission Loc@l believes that by covering a neighborhood fairly and thoroughly, we can build community and a sustainable model for quality journalism.
As part of that effort, we seek collaboration and experimentation that will serve the community we cover and journalism. In the Mission District that means being a bilingual site and using print, multimedia and video to deliver information that offers diverse residents a way to connect and stay informed.
The site launched in October 2008, opened an office in the Mission District in January and many of us are Mission residents.
The project is part of an initiative in hyper-local coverage developed by UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, and supported by the school, the Ford Foundation and other donors.
Our aim is to become a self-sustaining model for public private partnerships that involve journalism schools, private foundations and community supporters.
This summer’s staff includes five interns from UC Berkeley, one intern from SF State and a visiting scholar from Mexico. We also participate in collaborations to mentor young journalists.
Submit Stories, complaints, tips, ideas to staff@missionlocal.org
Mad Hacks Chronicles Mission Loc@l’s Experience.
Managing Editor
Lydia Chávez
Multimedia Managing Editor
Mimi Chakarova
Editors
Amanda Martinez
Heather Smith
Multimedia Designers & Advisors
Richard Koci Hernandez
Josh Williams
Reporters & Contributors
David Caballero, Rigoberto Hernandez, Jon Logan, Daniel Mondragon, Mark Rabine, Leslie Rabine, Melissa San Miguel, Heather Smith, Viola
Summer Interns
Milagros Loza, Michelle Joo Hyun Park, Juan David Rangel, Kate Reardon, Molly Roy
Webmaster
Chuck Harris
Translators
Spanish Edition:
Andrea Valencia
Business Manager
Rachel Parker
If you are interested in becoming a Community Contributor please email us here.
The sweeper icon in Mission Loc@l’s logo was drawn by Rini Templeton, an artist-activist who lived and worked in the United States, Central America and Mexico.
Managing Editor Lydia Chávez started at the Albuquerque Tribune, later moving to Time, Los Angeles Times and the New York Times, where she served as El Salvador and South American bureau chief. She is the recipient of the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2008 Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award. Sometimes Viola.
Multimedia Managing Editor Mimi Chakarova is an independent visual journalist. She is the recipient of the Dorothea Lange Fellowship and the Magnum Photos Inge Morath Award. Chakarova’s documentary work was awarded a 2008 Webby and was also nominated for an Emmy. Chakarova is a correspondent for the Center for Investigative Reporting and has taught at UC Berkeley for 12 years.
Multimedia Managing Editor Richard Koci Hernandez, a photographer at San Jose Mercury News for 15 years, has been published in Time, Newsweek, USA Today, and the New York Times. In 2003, Richard won the James K. Batten Knight Ridder Excellence Award. His work has also earned him two Pulitzer Prize nominations. He is currently a Ford Foundation Fellow at UC Berkeley.
aRigoberto Hernandez, a senior at San Francisco State University, was born in Mexico and grew up in a small community near San Diego. Hernandez has worked at El Tecolote and hopes to someday launch a site covering his hometown in southern California. He uses print, photography and multimedia to tell stories.
Amanda Martinez, uses print, video and multimedia to tell stories about local and national issues. She sits on the board of El Tecolote, a community paper founded in the Mission 39-years-ago, and is a strong believer in community journalism.
