This investigative reporter is joining our team to guide the next generation of journalists of color.

By Ireashia Bennett

We are very pleased to welcome Alejandra Cancino to City Bureau as our Deputy Editor.

Alejandra is an award-winning journalist who brings nearly 20 years of experience as a reporter and a deep desire to mentor the next generation of journalists of color. Previously, she was a senior investigative reporter at Better Government Association where she exposed systemic failures in local government. In 2021, she published Cabrini-Green: A History of Broken Promises, a groundbreaking examination of the city of Chicago’s failure to keep promises of jobs and housing for current and former Cabrini-Green residents.

As Deputy Editor, Alejandra plays a key role in City Bureau’s editorial content strategy by overseeing editorial projects and newsletters meant to serve Chicago’s BIPOC communities as well as managing the Civic Reporting Fellowship, a training program for early-career reporters.

Here’s a little bit about Alejandra.

Can you share a little bit about yourself and your career background?

I have been a reporter for nearly 20 years. I grew up in Guatemala, Chile and Miami, Florida. I went to school at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where I started my journalism career. As a student, they had a daily newspaper and I started out as a freelance reporter and then became a beat reporter, which was a big deal as a student. Eventually, I made my way to being an editor. After college, I worked in the Palm Beach Post as well as in their Spanish-language newspaper.

Then I moved to Chicago for a job at the Chicago Tribune, where I was a business reporter for about six years. After that I was an investigative reporter at the Better Government Association.

What drew you to journalism?

I grew up in Latin America, and I grew up learning about military dictatorships, and how difficult it is to be a journalist in Latin America. My father is a journalist, and at times, we had a difficult time because of his profession. I grew up really understanding how much power there is in being able to have information.

The truth is often complicated and it's something that is often hidden from the public. When I was in college, I remember struggling with the idea of what I wanted to do. I sort of chose journalism without really choosing journalism. I did a number of internships. I thought I wanted to be a doctor and I went to a hospital to be a volunteer in the pediatric unit. I thought I wanted to be a social worker, so I volunteered in a homeless shelter. Everywhere I went, I saw what the problems were. And I realized then that journalism was a way for me to explore those problems and, in some cases, find solutions for those problems, or expose them.

What are you most proud of in terms of your career as a journalist?

I've been reflecting on how long my career has been and how hard it was and how many times I've thought that I'm not good enough. Many people didn't think that I could be a journalist. I think other journalists of color can relate. There is always someone, a professor or a teacher or a mentor or an editor, who has said, “You can't do this. You better do something else with your life.” And I am so proud of myself for believing in myself, and working through those problems and finding mentors who can help me get better at what I do.

Now, I get to give back to others through mentorship and co-creating a journalism community where we can train each other and share the tools we use as journalists.

I have a question that came to my mind while you were talking, it’s kind of off the cuff. But who do you write for? As a journalist, who do you want to read your work the most?

That is such a great question. I think that the audience varies in my head a lot. It depends on what exactly I'm writing about. As a business reporter, it was a consumer or whoever was buying a product. One of my favorite beats from my daily newspaper days was covering labor. And, I really wanted the workers to read my work because I was trying to explain how their struggle fits into a larger picture around labor laws in America.

I’ve always been able to connect the dots and think globally. Things make sense when you think about history. When you think about where we’re going, you’re able to know why we’re here.

The audience that’s in my mind is the people who are willing to share their experiences with me. But, I also write for decision-makers who don't believe those same people. I think I write for both. Many times, the people I interviewed are not believed or their experiences are diminished. I write for them but also for the people who diminish the stories, to know that there’s someone paying attention.

What drew you to City Bureau?

I spent most of 2021 thinking about the lack of journalists of color in our industry. I kept thinking about ways of giving back, creating new paths for journalists of color to become investigative reporters and learn the tools I’ve learned.

Maria Zamudio, a WBEZ reporter, and I created a mentorship program, just a couple of weeks through something called FOIA Fest. That experience gave me a sense for the appetite folks have to get more training in FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, and how to access public information. I also thought about what I could do to train the next generation, so I started training interns at the BGA and being a mentor to as many journalists as I could.

I realized that City Bureau is already doing a lot of the work I hoped to do. They were already training dozens of journalists who are from communities that are ignored. People come here and see City Bureau as a respite from the rest of the industry. It is a part of our mission to be anti-racist and to hear the people from communities that are not often listened to.

So, I got excited about sharing the tools and information I’ve collected over the years with everyone that comes through the fellowship program.

That’s really amazing. I really love your dedication to making sure that communities have the resources and information they need to make better and more informed decisions.

I really believe in that. There's something that we usually say in journalism, the slogan for some newspapers: We inform, you decide. But if you are not really writing in a way that people understand the information, then they're not reading, and they're not making those informed decisions.

At the end of the day, I really do believe that we present the information. I don't want to tell people what they need to do, or tell people how they should live their lives. But I do want to give them all the information that they need to be able to make those informed decisions themselves. There has been a disconnect in journalism in the way we provide information, how people consume information and how we reach people who don't see themselves represented in traditional newspapers.

I was attracted to City Bureau because we will potentially write your typical article or investigative report, but we will also inform communities through guides, flyers and other forms of storytelling. We’re sharing the information they might want or need. And our work doesn’t have to look one particular way for it to be labeled Journalism.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role as Deputy Editor?

I’m really looking forward to the two fellowship cycles—the first one is in the summer and the second is in the fall. I am such a geek for good journalism that I already started clipping out articles that I really want the fellows to read and see how they respond to them. I’m a big believer that yes, there’s a lot we need to fix about the journalism industry, but there are also a number of reporters out there who are already doing anti-racist journalism. You just have to find them because they’re operating in silos. I can’t wait to introduce others who might not know them.

What are the values you bring to your work as a journalist and to City Bureau?

I’ve been reflecting a lot about my value system as a leader in this manager role. I recognize that we are operating in multiple communities—there’s the community of City Bureau, the community of the people we serve and then there’s the Chicago community. I really want to make sure that I am supporting the people that work with me closely in achieving their goals and what they want out of their careers and lives. At the same time, I see the bigger-picture goal of making sure we are also providing information that the Chicago community needs. I think a lot about how community is a two-way street, right? It’s not only me connecting with someone, but to have any connection it needs to be a reciprocal relationship. We constantly have to be working on that.

To connect with Alejandra reach out at alejandra@citybureau.org.

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Meet Alejandra, City Bureau's New Deputy Editor