10 Questions With ... Luciana Lopez, Reporter, Reuters

04/19/2017

Reporter Luciana Lopez has been at Reuters since 2009, after a stint at the Oregonian in Portland. She spent the first two and a half years in Sao Paulo before moving to the New York bureau at the start of 2012. Lopez has been part of the election team at Reuters the past two years.

“I’ve learned a lot from my amazing colleagues and from watching the political circus up close. I was especially proud that I was able to do stories about communities of color during the election, including Asian Americans and Latinos,” Lopez said.

Get to know Lopez a bit better with our 10 questions.

1.     If you weren't working in journalism, what would you be doing?

Hopefully a profession where I could still be learning every day! One of my majors was biology, and I still love the sciences – something focused in that area, perhaps.

2.     Who's your favorite journalist or writer - living or dead?

I am an enormous nerd, so I’m going with Philip K. Dick, who wrote Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and other science fiction classics. But I also love Larry McMurtry; Lonesome Dove is an incredible read, and one that I recommend wholeheartedly. 

3.     What could the news business use more of?

Diversity of points of view, including gender identity, racial and ethnic identity, and, yes, political perspective.

4.     Less of?

Bureaucracy. We are as subject to this as any other industry, but anything that drags on good, accurate stories getting out raises my eyebrow.

5.     Name a piece of journalism that moved you most profoundly.

Some years ago the New York Times Magazine did a story on people with Williams syndrome. It was a magazine story, so it was longer. But it wasn’t about politics or policy or any of those things that grab so many headlines every day. It was instead a story that helped me think about what are the things that make us human and how we care for and about each other and why.

6.     What makes you hopeful about the future of journalism?

There are so many great young reporters who care deeply about journalism and the news. Not all of them are at outlets like Reuters or traditional newspapers – some of them are on Twitter or Tumblr or a million other places that maybe we don’t think of as news just yet. But they’re there.

7.     What worries you?

The breakdown in trust among Americans and their institutions, including the government and the press.

8.    When you're not reporting, what occupies your time?

I study Japanese in my spare time. Muzukashii!

9.    Why is being in the Guild better than not being in the Guild?

There are so many potential answers to this, but let’s go with health care.

10.  If you could give someone starting out in journalism one piece of advice what would it be?

Show up. Show up over and over and over. Then show up some more. Be persistent but polite. And keep showing up.

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