Jessica Perez returns to Boyle Heights Beat as senior editor

Jessica Perez is experiencing a full circle moment. Throughout her career, the journalist has looked to one goal: to center community voices and get more Latino representation in the field of journalism. Now Perez gets to do that by returning to her roots to serve as Senior Editor of Boyle Heights Beat, managing all editorial staff.

Born in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, and raised in Boyle Heights, Perez has always emphasized the importance of local journalism. After studying journalism at Cal State Long Beach, she started the blog Mis Neighbors, featuring arts and culture stories about Boyle Heights.

She started as a volunteer mentor when Boyle Heights Beat launched in 2010 and then became deputy editor.  In 2015, she left the Beat to become a digital producer at NBC Los Angeles News, and later trained students in community journalism as a fellow at USC Annenberg.

Perez has spent the last 6 years at the Los Angeles Times, first as an assistant editor of the News Desk, and then the community editor of De Los, an L.A. Times project focused on Latino stories.

Through these experiences, Perez has recognized her role in uplifting fellow Latino voices. Our youth reporter Sofia Peña had the chance to speak with Perez to talk about her journey into journalism and her hopes for Boyle Heights Beat.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

BHB: Can you tell me a bit about how you got into journalism?

JP: I actually didn’t know I wanted to be a journalist even when I went off to college because I was so involved in the arts growing up. I was a commuter and working two jobs while being a full-time student, so I didn’t have too much consistency as a student journalist. I only did a bit of reporting for the newspaper and hosting for the TV news show at the school. Because of that, I felt like I didn’t have the experience or confidence to go into the field right when I graduated. 

I rediscovered my passion for journalism as the field was changing. During this time, social media and the internet was really changing the course of journalism and where the field was headed. That was a good thing for me, because I saw that I had those tools at my disposal and I could do it myself. I didn’t have to wait for somebody to hire me. That’s when I launched my community blog.

BHB: Can you tell me about your past experience at Boyle Heights Beat?

JP: Mainstream media at the time was really just focused on the violence that was happening in Boyle Heights, so I wanted to find ways to highlight what I was seeing in my community. That’s why I just knew I had to be a part of Boyle Heights Beat. I loved getting to know high school students and guiding them on how to report on their own community–I saw so much of myself in them. It was such a rewarding experience to go around the neighborhood and hear from residents how our stories impacted their lives or give us news tips because they found us to be a reliable source.  

BHB: As someone who grew up in Boyle Heights, what are some of your best memories living in this community here?

JP: Walking down all the big avenues with my mom is what I remember most. She didn’t drive, so we’d walk everywhere or take the bus downCesar Chavez, went shopping at little markets or got masa at the panaderia, medicine at the farmacia. 

I remember how lively the streets were, you could always get a snack from a vendor. Boyle Heights was a busy, bustling area. 

BHB: I know you were a part of the launch team for De Los at the L.A. Times which was focused on uplifting Latino stories. Can you talk a bit of the importance of publications like that and what it was like being a part of that team?

JP: Projects like that are very special. Anytime you have an opportunity to be a part of projects that center your experience, in this case the Latino experience, it feels like a privilege to be able to do that. 

The idea was to be very community driven, bringing voices that could share what the Latino experience was like for them, rather than have others tell our stories for us. This endeavor isn’t the first project where the Times has focused on Latinos in Los Angeles. It was an honor to be a part of that legacy.

BHB: Now that you’re back at the Boyle Heights Beat, what are some of your hopes for the organization as its newest senior editor?

JP: It’s nice to see how much the organization has evolved in the past fourteen years. I think the success can be attributed to the dedication of the Boyle Heights Beat staff and the way they’ve gained the trust of the local community. Being able to come back to that and help develop it even more, to be a part of the continued evolution of the newsroom as it expands to be the neighborhood’s primary source of news, that’s an honor for me. 

It also feels good to come back with more experience in journalism and pass that onto the newsroom here. Before, the newsroom was just youth reporters, and now we’ve also got adult reporters digging into community issues. 

On top of helping manage the newsroom, I want to find ways to bring residents into our news process, especially when it comes to local news. It’s imperative that we do everything to work with the community so we address and reflect their needs, because that’s what we’re all about. We’re a service to the people of this neighborhood and we’re never going to lose sight of that.

BHB: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

JP: There’s way too much to talk about with all the changes going on at the Beat, but I just want to say that I’m excited for the future. At a time when journalism is facing cuts across the board, local news always ends up getting hit the hardest. This is the time when newsrooms like the Beat are most needed.