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Alana Rocha on Muck Rack

Alana Rocha

Verified
(She/Her)
Austin, Texas
As seen in: The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN), Medium, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Chron, Salon, Constant Contact, RawStory, KHOU-TV (Houston, TX), KPRC-TV (Houston, TX) and
Covers:  Rural, Politics, Policy, Texas, Public Speaking, Nonprofit News, News Literacy
.@INN's Dir of Collaborative and Rural Initiatives. Shaped by @TexasTribune @SpectrumNews1TX @KWCH12. Seasoned millennial. Tweets son míos. #GoGators

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Alana Rocha’s Biography

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Alana Rocha leads INN’s Rural News Network — its most ambitious collaboration to date. As editor, Alana works with more than 80 member outlets in 47 states to guide and amplify coverage of remote areas. Alana joined INN after 20 years as a news and politics reporter in Florida, Kansas and Texas. Most recently, she worked for The Texas Tribune — a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization based in Austin — directing news partnerships and producing award-winning multimedia journalism in English an…

Alana Rocha’s Journalist Portfolio

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Insights

Insights

A series of essays offering an inside look at the nonprofit news industry and valuable takeaways from Rural N…

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Falling Short: Rebuilding elderly care in rural America

Falling Short: Rebuilding elderly care in rural America

Rural nursing homes across the country, already understaffed, face significant new federal staffing requireme…

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Rural Realities: Education, workforce and progress

Rural Realities: Education, workforce and progress

People are growing more skeptical about the value of higher education. This five-part series from the Rural N…

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Speaking Out: Rural communities of color changing the narrative

Speaking Out: Rural communities of color changing the narrative

This six-part series from INN's Rural News Network explores issues rural communities of color face and what s…

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INN's latest rural collaboration enables on-the-ground reporting, builds community trust

INN's latest rural collaboration enables on-the-ground reporting, builds community trust

In Breaking Point, four INN member newsrooms who participate in the Rural News Network (RNN), collaborated to…

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Best of: Pandemic Parenting on Live TV

Best of: Pandemic Parenting on Live TV

At the height of the pandemic, I was home, representing The Texas Tribune on television news affiliates acros…

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Articles

New prosecutor gives new hope for answers in teen’s mysterious death at Pillen Family Farms

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By Andrew Wegley Verified, Alana Rocha Verified
| The Rural News Network (RNN)
Editor’s note: This story has been updated. Days after a 17-year-old died while working at a hog farm owned by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen’s family, Boone County’s attorney knew Zach Panther’s mother would seek independent lab tests to determine what had killed her son — an effort the prosecutor seemed supportive of.
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By Lorraine Gabbert, Alana Rocha Verified
| The Rural News Network (RNN)
A land preservation nonprofit and a public transit agency in Santa Clara County are creating wildlife crossings to protect animals and motorists along Coyote Valley’s busiest corridor. In response to wildlife-vehicle collisions, Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), in partnership with VTA, is constructing underpasses for animals at key points along Highway 101, Monterey Road and Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
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At an Iowa Pork Plant, Piles of Dead Pigs and Wafting Sulphur Dioxide

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By Nina Elkadi, Alana Rocha Verified
| The Rural News Network (RNN)
After Steven Barrows left his job at a hog slaughtering facility in Sioux City, Iowa, he sent a tip to the Environmental Protection Agency. In the tip, received by the EPA April 16, Barrows described the parking lot of Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC as a “dump site for rotten meats.” He also sent photos — some displaying dead pigs piled up outside of the building and others showing a smoky, noxious gas wafting inside.
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Awards

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ONA Women's Leadership Accelerator

2022 - News Leader

Each year the Online News Association (ONA) chooses a cohort of 26 female journalists for the Women’s Leadership Accelerator (#ONAWLA). The accelerator is a yearlong program designed to advance leadership and management skills through tailored training, coaching and practical guidance to navigate career challenges. The program also nurtures career-long connections to a powerful community of support, both within each year’s cohort and across a broader network of leaders that includes accelerator alums, mentors and speakers.

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News Leaders Association

2019 - Visual Journalism Award

Garnered honor for mini-documentary, "13 Hours to Midnight: The Wendy Davis abortion filibuster, 5 years later"

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The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

2019 - Documentary – Cultural/Historical

Sole reporter on The Texas Tribune's first and only Emmy award-winning video story, "13 Hours to Midnight: The Wendy Davis Abortion Filibuster, 5 Years Later"

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Texas Psychological Association

2016 - Online Media Contribution

Recognized for contributing "heavily to the Tribune’s mental health, legislative and veteran coverage" and for diligently expanding the public’s knowledge and awareness of psychological disorders through my reporting on both mental health issues and legislative coverage – particularly where these two issues overlap."

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National Edward R. Murrow

2016 - Best Video News Series

Took home award for "God & Governing" – A documentary series on how Texas legislators' religious beliefs guide their lawmaking

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National Edward R. Murrow

2015 - Best Video Investigative Reporting

Team won award for "Hurting for Work" – multimedia series that examined how disdain for government regulation sparked a “Texas miracle” economy — while tearing down protections for the workers who built it.

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Regional Edward R. Murrow

2014 - Best Video Feature Reporting

Reported, filmed, edited and produced, “Prostitution Rehab” that appeared in both The Texas Tribune and The New York Times.

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Regional Edward R. Murrow Award

2014 - Best Video News Series

Pioneered series during my first legislative session with The Texas Tribune, "State of Mind: Community Concerns Come to the Capitol"

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