The Salt Lake Tribune’s newest Report for America Corps reporter will focus on an area that’s often ignored, except in the worst of circumstances — the west side of the Salt Lake Valley.
“People in those communities, well, they basically say that reporters only go there when something bad happens,” said Alixel Cabrera. “There’s not a constant media presence.”
Cabrera will be there, she said, “to actively listen to people and report on so many issues that are being overlooked.”
Her focus will be on 10 communities, from Magna to Herriman — including the state’s second-largest city, West Valley City. She’ll be covering not just the city governments, but the people who live in those communities.
“We’re eager to expand our reporting efforts and to focus more on west Salt Lake Valley,” said Lauren Gustus, executive editor of The Salt Lake Tribune. “Alixel is passionate about elevating successes and stories of those whose voices haven’t been heard, and I’m confident she’ll help The Tribune do so in this new role.”
Cabrera, a former Salt Lake Tribune intern, moved to the United States from her native Venezuela four years ago. She graduated from Columbia University with a master’s degree in journalism in 2020. She’s reported for Rest of World, an international nonprofit journalism organization, as well as La Verdad and Cronica Uno, where she covered Maracaibo, her hometown and one of the cities most affected by blackouts and food shortages in Venezuela.
“Growing up, I saw how my hometown, Maracaibo, Venezuela. progressively turned into a place I have a hard time recognizing,” she wrote in her RFA application. “In these circumstances, journalism became a tool that helped me resist. Digging, asking questions of what shaped our reality and contrasting them with the government’s speech, and getting to people’s homes sometimes prevented me from feeling so helpless.”
While she has focused largely on political and economic reporting, Cabrera has also covered food and culture. She worked with Tribune reporter Kathy Stephenson last year on the “Utah Eats” newsletter, “and it was a great experience. I also got to write a lot of features for The Salt Lake Tribune, and that was an experience that I loved.”
Report for America is a national service program focused on supporting local journalism and increasing the number of reporters exploring vital, under-covered issues. Launched in 2017 and financed by donors, it is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, a nonprofit media organization with an established track record of training and supporting teams of emerging journalists.
Cabrera, who will join the staff in June, will be the third Report for America reporter at the Tribune. Becky Jacobs covers Utah women, and Zak Podmore covers San Juan County, which includes a piece of the Navajo Nation. RFA covers half of each of their salaries.
“I am thrilled to go back to The Salt Lake Tribune,” Cabrera said. “I love the nonprofit model and I really love this newsroom.”
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