I’m thrilled to announce that veteran journalist Rafael Carranza — who grew up and spent the past decade reporting in our home state — has joined our Arizona Luminaria team full time in partnership with the ProPublica Local Reporting Network.
Rafael will collaborate with Arizona Luminaria editors as well as ProPublica editors and specialized teams on investigations for three years while based in Tucson.
We are one of three partner U.S. newsrooms working with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network after this historic election, joining Invisible Institute and the New York Amsterdam News to dedicate a reporter focused solely on investigative reporting. This investment in accountability journalism — as our communities endure years of deep cuts in local watchdog reporting — is supported by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
“Arizona is my home,” Rafael said. “I feel honored to join a team that is focused on providing clear-cut, community-based reporting on issues impacting our state, with the backing and strength of ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network.”
Rafael was born in México and grew up in the Phoenix area. He wanted to become a journalist ever since he joined his high school newspaper, the Desert Howl. He attended the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, majoring in broadcast journalism.
Rafael began his journalism career as a television reporter for the CBS affiliate in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. That experience in borderlands communities prepared him for an opportunity of a lifetime — moving to Rome for coverage of the Vatican. While in Rome, Rafael reported on one of the biggest stories of the church: The first resignation in 600 years of a sitting pope and the conclave that resulted in the election of the first non-European pope in the Catholic Church’s history.
After returning to Arizona, Rafael joined La Voz Arizona and The Arizona Republic as a bilingual, multimedia reporter. He covered Latino and migrant communities in the Southwest. He lived and worked in Tucson during the first Trump administration, writing about issues affecting rural borderlands communities, U.S. asylum and immigration systems and people seeking refugee status.
He was part of the reporting team awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for The Wall, and received an Emmy for his video reporting on the project that looked at the impacts of constructing costly taxpayer-funded border barriers.
“Time and time again, I’ve fallen in love with the Arizona-México borderlands. With the people, the sights, the food, and that unique binational blend of two cultures,” Rafael said. “I look forward to covering this region with the careful, critical eye it deserves.”
When he’s not reporting, you can find Rafael exploring the Southwest, especially the Sonoran Desert and Sky Islands of Southern Arizona. Or in a kitchen, cooking and eating.
¡Bienvenidos, Rafael!
Rafael grew up in Arizona and has spent much of his journalism career focused on stories of Southern Arizona. I am inspired by his commitment to serving our communities and his thoughtfulness about reporting in-depth stories in Spanish- and English-language news.
I hope you are as thrilled as I am to watch Rafael dig into investigative reporting with ProPublica that’s helping our scrappy newsroom hold the most powerful in Arizona accountable to justice and truth.
Rafael is on a listening tour now, investing time in meeting with people of Southern Arizona. He’s learning more about what local investigative stories — especially ones in underserved or historically marginalized communities — are being overlooked by news outlets.
I’ve been a local journalist in Arizona for almost 20 years. Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to truly serve our communities with ethical and equitable accountability journalism that respects and informs all our neighbors.
We’ve heard from many readers that it matters to them that Arizona Luminaria provides news — free from paywalls that limit who can access these vital stories — they need to understand complex issues. We also recognize that readers want their local newsrooms to include journalists who have long lived in their home state, understand the problems we face and know those among us working toward solutions.
Mil gracias
Together we’ve grown Arizona Luminaria into a caring full-time team of local journalists. They’re all passionate about keeping our communities informed so you can take action on issues you care about.
As a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom none of this would be possible without your support.
I’m beyond grateful to all of you.
Rafael’s new reporting role wouldn’t be possible without ProPublica’s support and their grant funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation that made this ambitious investigative project achievable in newsrooms across three states dedicated to serving diverse communities.
Congratulations to our Local Reporting Network colleagues, Ashad Hajela of The Amsterdam News and María Inés Zamudio of the Invisible Institute, who are focused on reporting in their respective New York and Illinois communities.
I learned from my mom and abuela to believe in watching for good signs, and for years now, I’ve crossed paths in the journalism world with Sarah Blustain. Sarah leads ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. She’s kind, plus I’m in awe of her sharp journalism skills and can’t wait for us to learn a ton from her.
It’s also a great sign that we have the joy of working with longtime Arizona journalist Michael Squires, our primary partner editor at ProPublica. I was lucky Michael was my former investigative editor. He’s one of the best humans I know. And he has an eye for detailed investigative reporting that centers the voices and stories of people harmed by those who abuse their power.
Rafael and I are excited to work with Michael and Sarah — and everyone with their team — to expand Arizona Luminaria’s investigations with ProPublica’s help and share our local reporting with their newsroom’s national readers.
Bottom line: We can’t do this investigative reporting without you.
Please reach out to Rafael. Please know he is dedicated to earning your trust and investigating injustices, wrongdoing and harm in our communities. Please keep holding your Arizona Luminaria news team accountable to the privilege of sharing your stories.
Send Rafael your story ideas, backpacking suggestions and restaurant recommendations at [email protected] or on X @RafaelCarranza.
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