Hi there!
My name is Canela Lopez, my pronouns are they, them, theirs, and I am a rising junior studying Political Science and Africana Studies. Most may know me through my work at The Tulane Hullabaloo, where I am currently the Managing Editor, or through my involvement in Student Organizing Against Racism where I am the current co-convener of color. I’m also an aspiring investigative reporter and am extremely excited to be starting my journey at The Uptown Messenger, an incredible publication that focuses on covering the local goings on and politics of the New Orleans uptown area.
In my first week I can honestly say, as corny as it may sound, that I have learned more about journalism in these past few days than in my six years of journalism experience. Being trusted to cover New Orleans City Council meetings on my own, pitch my own stories and explore my own interests within my writing is something I never expected from a typical journalism internship. Although I have been a student journalism for over 6 years, more often than not I have been constrained to writing on specific topics and in a mechanical fashion. The only other time I have been able to combine my other interests, such as anti-racism and social justice, with my journalism is when I created Intersections, a new section of the Hullabaloo dedicated to covering stories from communities often times ignored by the mainstream narrative such as communities of color and queer voices on Tulane’s campus.
The Uptown Messenger has not only given me the space to continue to focus on these topics in my writing, but has also encouraged me to find my own voice in my reporting. As a journalist with many marginalized identities, I have typically been discouraged by editors and journalism teachers alike to write on subjects that impact my communities. However, my mentors and co workers at the Uptown Messenger encourage me to cover what calls to my passions and value first hand experience in topic areas.
I have high hopes for this internship and really believe that I will be able to blend my passion for journalism and my need to fight for anti-racism in my time here, something I never thought would be possible in the world of mainstream journalism.
My goals for the summer are to 1) Develop a thorough understanding on racial politics in the New Orleans City Council elections and Mayoral elections 2) Expand on my capacity to cover stories in a holistic manner through the use of video, social media and photos in addition to my writing 3) Understand how to better incorporate my activism into my writing through framing and research rather than I statements and opinion articles 4) Understand the manner in which a non profit publication conducts business and earns funds 5) Quicken my writing time in order to be better at covering breaking news in a timely fashion.