“I fell in love with broadcasting when I was 14,” said KJZZ Senior Field Correspondent Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez.
Arroyo
Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico to Puerto Rican and Belgian parents
and grew up in La Villita, a predominantly Mexican-American community in
Southside Chicago. The multi-cultural childhood helped her realize
early on that “Latino” is not a universal term and has different
meanings for the people who are often placed under this category. Her
command for the Spanish language; however, gave her the means to immerse
herself into a variety of “Latino” communities.
While her
reporting career has taken several twists and turns over the years, her
work over the last few has primarily focused on issues that affect
Arizona’s Latino communities. She began sharing her expertise with KJZZ
listeners in 2008.
Arroyo Rodriguez embarked on her reporting
career as a student of the Columbia College Chicago journalism program.
After graduating in 1993 with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism, she
remained in the city and became a general assignment reporter for
Tribune Company’s Chicago and Television News, Univision affiliate
WCIU-TV Channel 26 and WYCC-TV. One of her most memorable and exciting
assignments to date was covering the 1992 and 1996 presidential
elections.
Public broadcasting lured Arroyo Rodriguez away from
her commercial reporting career due to time - time to research, to let
stories unfold, to investigate and to share the story behind the
headlines.
When she and her family decided to move to Arizona,
she found a home with Eight, Arizona PBS as a television
producer and correspondent for the public affairs programs, Arizona Horizon and
Horizonte.
There’s more to life than reporting for Arroyo
Rodriguez, who takes her public service duties very seriously as well.
She has served several departments of the City of Chicago, was appointed
to the Chicago Mayor’s Advisory Council on Latino Affairs and served
for a U.S. congressional district. She is now serving as the National
Association of Hispanic Journalists Region 7 Director.
Paying it forward is important to Arroyo Rodriguez, evident in her mentoring of several KJZZ’s Youth Media students. Take a look at this YouTube video to learn more.
Life-long
learning is also a priority for Arroyo Rodriguez, who recently attained
a Master of Education from Northern Arizona University and is currently
pursuing a Master of Advanced Study in American Film and Media Studies
from Arizona State University.
As a sports fan, too, Arroyo
Rodriguez was the Vice President of Community Outreach for the 2008
Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee. Yes, she is still a die-hard Chicago
Bears fan.
While her career and extracurricular activities keep
her busy, the biggest priority of all for Arroyo Rodriguez is family and
home.
Contact Nadine Arroyo Rodriguez at 480-774-8232 or [email protected].
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