RISING ICON #105: Eric Ortiz
What name do you prefer to be called?
Eric
What are your pronouns?
He/him
Where did you grow up?
Los Angeles, California
What city are you currently based in?
Minneapolis, Minnesota
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Hi. I'm Eric. Nice to meet you. I work in journalism and community building. How about you?
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I love nature and being outdoors. Nature is an endless source of wisdom, reminding us of the importance of balance, adaptability, and connection in all aspects of life.
Who do you help?
Youth and underserved communities. I am the executive director of the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation, a national nonprofit youth and community development organization based in Minneapolis. I also am the associate director of research, learning, and impact at The Pivot Fund, a venture philanthropy organization that invests in local media outlets that serve underserved communities.
What are you building now?
I am building a media ecosystem that works for everyone. This work is centered around community journalism at the intersection of community engagement, youth development, and community empowerment with underserved communities. Community journalism begins by listening to the community, then gives people the news and information they need to make their lives better. I am spearheading The Pivot Fund's local news landscape analysis in the Midwest to help make journalism and philanthropy more accessible to communities of color, immigrant communities, and rural communities. In March 2024, I founded the Youth Community Journalism Institute at the Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation to strengthen communities through community journalism.
What were you building ten years ago today?
I had finished a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, the leading media fellowship in the United States to work on innovation and entrepreneurship in journalism. I was building a platform for mobile media production and journalism, then founded and ran a tech media company to democratize local news and community journalism. Since then, I have built and led newsrooms in all types of for-profit and nonprofit media environments, from national and international news to social justice and community development, overseeing all aspects of editorial, revenue, operations, and growth activities. The same fundamental problem with local news I was focused on solving 10 years ago still exists today. Millions of people in the United States lack access to information that meets their needs, and there isn't a sustainable business model for local news. I have learned that we don't need more tech in media to solve this problem. We need more humanity.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
Our Youth Community Journalism Institute will be a global leader in community journalism. Starting in the U.S., we will build a local news ecosystem that meets the needs of every community. This means every K-12 school in America will have a community journalism program, and every K-12 student will have access to technical, ethical, and entrepreneurial skills and workforce development opportunities. Over the next 10 years, we will transform journalism from an elitist industry to a blue-collar industry with a trade school model and create a pipeline of community journalists around the world.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
In the 1980s, 50 companies controlled 90 percent of media in the U.S. Today, it's six companies: AT&T, CBS, Comcast, Disney, News Corp and Viacom. That "media" includes 24-hour news stations and newspapers. Many local news outlets have been bought by large media conglomerates or hedge funds. This consolidation has hurt local news. Ownership changes led to cost-cutting measures, layoffs, and reduced local coverage. Declining resources eroded trust in media. Many communities are underrepresented or misrepresented, further undermining journalism. The lack of local news has decreased civic engagement, government accountability, and informed communities. Despite the problems, many people think local news is doing fine and don't realize the true cost of value of quality journalism.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
The current media ecosystem is not working for everyone. Every community needs trusted news and information about their community. News and information is power, and a healthy media ecosystem that works for everyone can empower and strengthen communities and make people's lives better.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
I have learned many valuable lessons from many successful people over the years. A current mentor is Carmen Robles. Her Conversaciones de Salud, a popular e-newsletter and print publication, is the Youth Community Journalism Institute's premier media partner. And her community engagement strategic consulting firm, Carmen Robles and Associates LLC, has been serving the Latino community in Minnesota and taking action for health and education equality since 2004. Carmen often says, "Success is 90 percent showing up." A lot of people have great ideas. Consistency, follow-through, and execution are the keys to greatness. Another mentor is Jeff Salzenstein, a professional speaker and success coach, who helps leaders find their zone of excellence. One piece of his advice: "Achieve success by surrounding yourself with the best."
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Our first "Youth Community Journalism" show was produced live in August 2024 at SPEAK MPLS, a community media center in Minneapolis. Nine youth (ages 12-15) produced the 90-minute program, which focused on solutions in Minneapolis. The program was a culmination of a six-week paid microintership and the first of our monthly "Youth Community Journalism" program. Combined with Ella Baker News, the first online school newspaper we created for a school, this work shows how youth can redefine journalism and we can build a healthy media ecosystem that works for everyone.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
The New Yorker, Columbia Journalism Review, Nieman Journalism Lab, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Poynter
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Tim Regan-Porter (Local News Matters), Andrew Huberman (Huberman Lab), Tim Ferris (The Tim Ferriss Show)
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
The power of community journalism
What award would mean the most to win?
Impact is more important than awards. But if one of our youth community journalists won a Livingston Award in the future, that would be awesome. Livingston Awards honor journalists under the age of 35 for outstanding achievement in local, national and international reporting across all forms of journalism.
What makes zero sense to you?
Racism. Hate is the result of ignorance and fear and is taught. Just as hate is taught, it can be untaught and replaced by love, respect, and appreciation. Journalism can bring people together and show the the value of all people.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
A word in the journalism industry that could benefit from re-evaluation is "objectivity." Traditionally, objectivity has been considered a cornerstone of journalism, implying neutrality and the avoidance of personal bias in reporting. But blind neutrality isn't always good. In the name of objectivity, journalists sometimes provide equal weight to all sides of an issue, even when one side lacks factual grounding or promotes harmful misinformation. The idea of total objectivity can overlook the importance of context, historical understanding, and the lived experiences of marginalized groups. Telling stories "without bias" may sometimes erase the perspectives of those most affected by issues. Even well-intentioned efforts at objectivity can mask underlying biases that shape editorial decisions. It's more productive to focus on accuracy and fairness, than claim complete neutrality, which can be impossible to achieve. Re-evaluating "objectivity" might lead the industry to more nuanced standards like "transparency" and "accountability," which better reflect the complexities of modern journalism.
What game are you changing?
We are redefining the meaning of journalism with youth. We want to make journalism available to everyone and show how community journalism can be used for action and good. Our Youth Community Journalism Institute gives young people the training, tools, resources, and support they need to make their communities more powerful. We do this by creating community journalism programs in schools and youth-focused organizations. Our programs provide access to journalism opportunities for K-12 students to boost literacy, increase media literacy, and spark civic engagement. We show students of all ages how they can use community journalism to create solutions and strengthen their communities.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Community journalism for all can create justice for all. I want to spark a community journalism for all movement with The Pivot Fund and Youth Community Journalism Institute. With youth and a reimagination of journalism, journalism can be a vehicle to create solutions and catalyze change so everyone in every community has the opportunity to thrive.
Where can we follow you online?
I write a weekly newsletter on LinkedIn called The Community Builder.
I also write a monthly column on community issues for the Southwest Connector, a local newspaper in Minneapolis.
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Listening. Turning what you hear into action leads to solutions.
To learn more about Eric’s work, visit:
Strong Mind Strong Body Foundation: https://strongmindstrongbody.org/
Youth Community Journalism Institute: https://ycji.org/
The Pivot Fund: https://thepivotfund.org/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictortiz/
Southwest Connector: https://www.swconnector.com/eric-ortiz/
Medium: https://medium.com/@ericortiz
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We’re grateful to each RISING ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Eric, for sharing your story!
LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. For nearly a decade, we’ve helped leaders build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in key opinion leadership and go-to-market strategy for emerging brands. To follow along with the RISING ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly email newsletter. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to elevating your leadership profile, FIT(lite). RISING ICONS is made possible by grant funding from Knight Foundation.
“Community journalism begins by listening to the community, then gives people the news and information they need to make their lives better.”
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