Kate McLaughlin<\/a> and she was a really great mentor and guide on understanding who I was as a reporter. I had really great teammates. I think that was a space that was really supportive and we championed each other, big or small \u2014 whatever the assignment was, and that\u2019s really helpful too. Journalism is hard, and it is a really tough industry and when you have folks who are very supportive, that helps boost your morale.\u201d<\/p>\nQ: What should people do in a breaking news situation?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cIf you are seeing something happening in real time, maybe you [safely] took a video of it or maybe you just are remembering a description of the event \u2026 If you share it on X, formerly known as Twitter, or Instagram and we are searching for that, those first person accounts we might see that, contact, and have a conversation. \u2026 It\u2019s a great way to kind of work together with the community and piece together a story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What does being a bilingual journalist mean to you?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI think it\u2019s given me a lot of perspective and empathy when it comes to speaking with not just Latino but other immigrant or vulnerable communities. It really has shaped me as a reporter in terms of having patience, empathy, grace and wanting to really build trust with the community that I serve.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What stories do you like covering most?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI love covering cultural mental health. I also love covering just public health in general. I feel like we have a lot of misunderstandings about communicable disease and it\u2019s really interesting to write it in this form \u2014 like explainers \u2014 that really break down and answer people\u2019s questions. I feel like that that resonates with the audience and it\u2019s a great way to connect because then I\u2019ll get an email that\u2019s like, \u2018Great you answered all these questions, but I have one more,\u2019 and I\u2019m like, \u2018Why didn\u2019t I think of that?\u2019 and then I get to update the story with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What are the most challenging stories to cover?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cIt really depends because sometimes when we go out into the field let\u2019s say like for fire coverage you kind of have to be alert, ready to go, not just find people and answer questions, make sure you\u2019re in a safe space, make sure the person you\u2019re interviewing is also safe. I think like when we write about lawsuits or court cases, you got to make sure that you\u2019re taking everyone into account, that you are attributing correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garcia said that helping underserved and underprivileged communities understand the newsgathering process is important, including explaining how interviews are on the record and that it\u2019s OK to stop answering questions if uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a challenge to balance making sure you take the time \u2026 that the person you\u2019re interviewing understands what their thoughts are or the conversation you\u2019re going to have is going to end up being publicized, because again people don\u2019t interact with journalists on the day-to-day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Q: What\u2019s next for you?<\/p>\n
A: \u201cI was hired as an [L.A. Times] utility journalism reporter, which is explanatory reporting and guides. And then when that team dissolved in \u201923, I was put onto the breaking news desk and I was nervous because I thought I hadn\u2019t had prior experience as a breaking news reporter. But I\u2019ve learned a lot. I\u2019ve grown a lot and I just think like wherever the wind blows me next, \u2018Hey, I\u2019ll take it.\u2019 I\u2019ll take that ride.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen Garcia\u2019s advice for aspiring journalists:<\/p>\n
\u201cRejection is hard but don\u2019t take it personally because it\u2019ll come from the community, your editor, but really it\u2019s just an opportunity to grow. It\u2019s an opportunity maybe even to understand, \u2018Maybe I\u2019m asking that question incorrectly,\u2019 or \u201cMaybe I\u2019m approaching [in] not the best way.’\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBe as adaptable as you can. The journalism industry and how we deliver news is changing constantly. So, it could be overwhelming, but you know, it\u2019s okay to follow up, to also ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe find a mentor. I don\u2019t want to say like early on, but find a mentor that you can bounce ideas off of, that you can reach out to for help.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis industry can be cutthroat. It can be hard, but it\u2019s not impossible. So, if you love to tell stories, if you love to listen, if you love to do research, and you love to try to find different ways to get stories out to different audiences, journalism is for you. Just don\u2019t give up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cImposter syndrome is real. Anxiety is real. \u2026 But you know, you\u2019re at the end of the day doing a public service and you\u2019re giving voices to people who otherwise probably wouldn\u2019t have been heard by their public leaders or whomever. So it\u2019s an important job and people should seek it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might go into it thinking you want to do one thing, but be open to the possibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Karen Garcia gets the facts, fast. From The Union\u2019s newsroom at El Camino College to the breaking news…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[143233,128075,143234,143235,143236,24819,48,52,51,120932,47,50,49,63,5079],"class_list":["post-350067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-cal-poly-slo","tag-california-polytechnic-state-university","tag-jolene-combs-memorial-award","tag-karen-garcia","tag-kate-mclaughlin","tag-l-a-times","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-la-times","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-los-angeles-times","tag-san-luis-obispo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Los](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/karengarcia-400x600.jpg\")
<\/a>Los Angeles Times reporter Karen Garcia, 33, leans on a tree near the De Los Stage where she moderated the panel, “Navigating History Through Memoir,” during the 2026 L.A. Times Festival of Books at the University of Southern California on Saturday, April 18. (Nikki Yunker | Warrior Life)<\/p>\n