Democrat & Chronicle

The Democrat and Chronicle is an online and print local news organization primarily serving the Rochester, New York Metro area of nearly 1 million people. We serve as the hub of the USA Today Network’s Northeast Crescent Region, which stretches from Vermont to Virginia. We regularly collaborate and share best practices with other local news sites within the Network, as well as with USA Today itself. The Democrat and Chronicle and its predecessor newspapers, first launched in 1833, uphold a proud tradition of community journalism in a city where both the nation’s abolitionist and suffragist movements took center stage in the 19th century.

Current Position

Location: Rochester, New York

Beat: The Puerto Rican community in Rochester New York

Position:

Rochester has among the highest percentages of Puerto Rican residents of any large city in America. After Hurricane Maria, thousands more Spanish-speaking residents moved here. Nearly 18% of our city’s population is Puerto Rican, but there is very little news in Spanish. Filling this gap is critical to informing and engaging these citizens.
This reporter is fluent in Spanish and familiar with Latino culture. She teams with our emerging audiences editor to focus on our Puerto Rican population, creating enterprise content that is relevant to them and contributes to greater cultural awareness throughout our community. This reporter also translates some content from other reporters.

Reporter: Natalia Rodríguez Medina