San Francisco — Acción Latina is pleased to announce that Erika Carlos will serve as the new Editor-in-chief of El Tecolote, California’s longest-running bilingual (English/Spanish) newspaper. Effective February 20, 2024, Carlos succeeded Alexis Terrazas, who served in the role for nearly a decade.
“Erika is going to be a tremendous asset, especially because she can use her multimedia skills to help us grow our audience,” said Juan Gonzales, the newspaper’s founder and current board member. “She is committed to producing great content that is focused on our neighborhood. She is very talented, and I’m glad to see her coming aboard.”
At the San Francisco Chronicle, Carlos moved through the ranks from producer to editor, working across video, podcasts and digital. In her more recent role as audience editor, she oversaw the newsroom’s presence on search, multimedia and emerging platforms. Prior to her 4.5 years at The Chronicle, Carlos was the digital editor for the Santa Barbara Independent.
“Erika brings a wealth of expertise in multi-platform audience strategy and development. I look forward to increasing El Tecolote’s visibility and impact across platforms under her leadership,” said Fátima Ramírez, Acción Latina’s Executive Director. “Most importantly, she is committed to uplifting the voices of our community through the mediums that are most accessible to them.”
Carlos will bring award-winning experience in multimedia storytelling to the legacy print publication. Her first investigative documentary film, Las Vulnerables, which covered COVID’s impact on migrant factory workers along the U.S.-Mexico border, was nominated for a regional S.F. Emmy award in 2022. Carlos was also the lead producer of the popular podcast Extra Spicy, which was featured in The Atlantic’s “50 Best Podcasts of 2020,” Apple Podcasts’ “New & Noteworthy,” and was selected as the Best Podcast of 2022 by the Society for Features Journalism.
“I am deeply honored to take on this critical role for San Francisco’s Latinx community,” said Carlos, who used to volunteer for El Tecolote in 2019. “I became a journalist to give a voice to people and communities that are often overlooked or marginalized. This role is an opportunity to do work that is dear to my heart and to build on El Tecolote’s incredible legacy of community journalism.”
Community members can support El Tecolote during this important transition for our legacy publication by making a donation to El Tecolote’s Community News Fund before March 31st.
About El Tecolote
Founded in August 1970, El Tecolote Newspaper is published by the San Francisco based arts & media nonprofit Acción Latina, whose mission is to promote cultural arts, community media, and civic engagement as a way of building healthy and empowered Latina/o/x communities.
Last December, El Tecolote received 13 awards by the San Francisco Press Club including the coveted “Overall Excellence” award and was recognized by The New York Times as one of the top local news publications to read in 2023.
El Tecolote has received recent support from national funders such as Borealis Philanthropies, the Lenfest Institute, American Press Institute, and Solutions Journalism Network. Partnerships with organizations such as Report for America and Catchlight Local have also made it possible to hire a full time staff photographer. El Tecolote will also serve as a host newsroom for the 2024-2026 journalism cohort for the California Local News Fellowship led by the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
Media Contact
Fátima Ramírez, Executive Director, Acción Latina
(415) 648-1045 EXT 107