Voice of OC unveils its election guide – earlier than ever – to this season’s hottest local races.
Author Archives: Norberto Santana Jr.
Norberto Santana, Jr. is an experienced investigative reporter, serving as founding publisher and editor-in-chief for Voice of OC, overseeing newsroom, engagement and fundraising operations.
He’s also an award-winning columnist, focusing his efforts on First Amendment issues and local government, being recognized multiple years by the Orange County Press Club as the region’s best columnist.
The LA Press Club has named him a Journalist of the Year (2018) and the Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has recognized him as a “Distinguished Journalist.” The California Chicano News Media Association has honored him with a lifetime achievement award and the national News Leaders Association has recognized him for his commitment to diverse staffing and coverage.
Santana is a pioneer in the field of nonprofit news having served on the board of directors for the national trade group for nonprofit newsrooms, the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). He also has served on boards of the national nonprofit advocating investigative journalism, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the California First Amendment advocacy group, CalAware.
In addition to journalism, Santana also teaches public affairs and investigative journalism as an adjunct faculty professor at Chapman University.
Before founding Voice of OC in 2009, Santana was a lead investigative reporter for the Orange County Register, focusing on county government. He spent nearly two decades covering local governments across Southern California, previously as a staff writer at the San Diego Union Tribune and San Bernardino County Sun.
Santana began his journalistic career as an apprentice reporter with Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C. covering daily floor action in the U.S. Congress and followed that up with a stint covering the territorial Senate for the U.S. Virgin Islands Daily News.
Languages spoken: English and Spanish
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: OC Immigration Clerks Fight Layoffs
While Republican and Democratic leaders often focus on border enforcement, paperwork processing is the real heavy lift to a fair immigration system – one that local clerks are finding few leaders want to pay for.
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: Orange County’s Bankruptcy of Oversight
Months ahead of the 30-year anniversary of the nation’s first county default, OC officials confront a similar crisis fuelled by an apparent lack of internal auditing and whistleblowing.
Posted inSanta Ana
Santana: Politicians in Santa Ana Don’t Want Residents To See Them Up Close
Santa Ana city leaders want to put journalists in a pen when it comes to photography of official meetings. Our newsroom is protesting, exploring legal options and in the meantime, moving to cartoons for official meeting coverage.
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: Officials Praise Disneyland as a Boss, Workers Say Otherwise
Disneyland employees are voting on a strike, calling for better pay months after Anaheim officials approved a historic theme park expansion – one where city, business and labor leaders touted the Mouse as a great boss.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: HB Airshow Settlement Release Shows The Power of Public Records Focusing Debates
A successful public records lawsuit from a local school board member in HB tonight will allow residents to really debate the value of the local air show.
Posted inEquality & Equity
Santana: Read The Declaration of Independence This Fourth of July
Consider how many of the two dozen gripes against King George III are still being debated – even at the local level.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Getting $9.5 Billion in County Taxes To Work on Behalf of OC Residents
With a County CEO selection process mired in politics, OC residents have a rare chance to get a real chief executive if they empower what could soon be rolled out as an interim leader.
Posted inTop Stories
Santana: Who Gets The Reins At The County of Orange?
With county supervisors skipping a decision this week, a CEO retiring in two weeks and the next public meeting potentially months away, interim leadership for the county’s $9.5 billion budget is likely.
Posted inNorberto Santana Jr.
Santana: Finding Orange County’s Next CEO Just Got Complicated
Orange County officials are struggling to find a qualified CEO to run one of the largest county governments in the country after reports that the hiring process has become politicized and plagued with leaks.
