Columbia alum Fernando Diaz is the new bilingual faculty advisor to the Columbia Chronicle, a position created to help grow the 18-month-old Spanish-language section of the student-run campus media outlet.
Diaz, who was on staff at the Chronicle when he was a student, went on to be managing editor of Hoy, Tribune Publishing’s Spanish-language daily newspaper that closed in 2019. He also was editor and publisher of Chicago Reporter, senior editor at Reveal at the Center for Investigative Reporting and managing editor for digital for the San Francisco Chronicle. He most recently was the business development lead for NewsPack.
“Fernando is a powerhouse in Chicago journalism,” said Jackie Spinner, the Chronicle’s faculty advisor. “We are so fortunate he agreed to come back to his first newsroom to help us as we expand our bilingual journalism. Our Spanish-language coverage is an important part of the work we do, especially now that Columbia is a Hispanic-serving institution.”
The Chronicle launched its Spanish-language section called La Crónica in Spring 2023. The student outlet creates stories, podcasts and videos in Spanish. Its audience is primarily parents but also first-generation students.
About a quarter of the Chronicle staff is now bilingual. “We have been purposeful about hiring and supporting a diverse group of students,” Spinner said.
Diaz, who graduated from Columbia in 2004, is thrilled to be working with the Chronicle and communicating with students to find out their interests in contributing to La Crónica.
Through stories, podcasts and a new Spanish-language newsletter that will launch the first week of school, Diaz wants to make sure “everyone is able to meet their own personal goals while also producing something that they can be proud of as a team.”
Patience Hurston, the Chronicle’s editor-in-chief, said they are happy to see Diaz come on board.
“It’s cool anytime a Chronicle alumni comes and instills their knowledge on us,” they said. “He’s already taught us so much about thinking outside the box. Fernando has been great to work with and I can’t wait for what he’s going to teach us next.”
Diaz said he wants to help the students expand the Chronicle’s Spanish-language coverage and to provide reliable and accessible news to its readers.
“There is a huge need for information for Latino, Latina, Latinx people here in Chicago that isn’t being served properly by any of the existing media,” he said.
As the school year unfolds, Diaz, who is a part-time contract worker at the college, plans to launch a new media platform called La Estreya in January 2025. La Estreya which translates to “the star” in Spanish.
“The goal of La Estreya will be to serve community information needs. It’s going to have a calendar of events with everything from local nonprofits to the schools, to the library,” Diaz said.
Diaz said he looks forward to working with the Chronicle team. “Being able to engage with you and the rest of the team who are at the beginning of their careers and really excited and really passionate and really hungry is like rejuvenating for me,” he said.
Copy edited by Doreen Abril Albuerne-Rodriguez
Resumen en Español:
Fernando Diaz, ex alumno de Columbia y periodista destacado, ha regresado al campus como el nuevo asesor bilingüe para el Columbia Chronicle. Diaz trabajó en el Chronicle como estudiante y se graduó en 2004. Ha ocupado cargos importantes incluyendo editor gerente de Hoy, editor del Chicago Reporter, editor sénior en Reveal en el Centro de Periodismo de Investigación y editor gerente digital del San Francisco Chronicle. Ayudará a expandir la sección en español del Chronicle, La Crónica, que incluirá podcasts, contenido en redes sociales y un nuevo newsletter que se lanzará la próxima semana.
Díaz dijo que espera con entusiasmo trabajar con el equipo del Chronicle. “Poder colaborar con ustedes y con el resto del equipo, que están al comienzo de sus carreras y realmente emocionados, apasionados y con mucha hambre, es como un rejuvenecimiento para mí,” dijo.
Resumen en Español por Doreen Abril Albuerne-Rodriguez
