On October 29, INMA and Google News Initiative (GNI) awarded 50 news media professionals around the world with its debut Elevate Scholarship. This series features these impressive media professionals who are shaping our industry. 

Mitzi Natalia Hernandez Cruz learned early in life not to take education and job opportunities for granted. Growing up on the outskirts of Mexico City, it was not uncommon for her to have to spend as much as five hours a day commuting between her school, internships, and home. 

Her determination and dedication helped her land a job at the Mexican Radio Institute, which led to a position at the national broadcast network, TV Azteca. From there, she went to New York, where she spent seven years producing educational television programmes. All of these experiences worked together to lead her to her next mission. 

“I went back to Mexico seeking to document social justice movements,” she said. When that didn’t go as planned, she began producing and editing podcasts for Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM) “focused on promoting rigorous journalistic values.”

Working with journalists who are passionate about their work, she is eager to continue producing content that addresses a topic she is passionate about: historical gender inequality in the media, society, and politics. 

Her experience in producing content for different formats — television, radio, and digital formats such as podcasts — work together to support her dream of creating positive, respectful information that shines a light on the challenges facing women. 

“As a woman in the media, I have gone through different generations,” Cruz said. “Currently we continue to suffer gender violence both in the messages of the mainstream media and in our day-to-day lives.” 

To help create awareness about that reality, Cruz is presently developing a podcast in conjunction with gender studies. 

As an Elevate Scholarship recipient, she is looking forward to meeting others and developing a community of like-minded creators. She also looks forward to learning more about how to read and manage data to better understand audience behaviour. All of these elements will help her move forward in her mission to devote attention to gender inequality.

Not only is the time right for such a voice to be heard, but there is much that can be said on the topic. She is determined to help make a difference through meaningful content: “The development of content that gives a profile worthy of women is necessary at all levels.” 

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