“Get to the emotion”: Q&A with Eduardo Medina

After graduating from Auburn University in 2020, Eduardo Medina earned a fellowship at The New York Times and then was hired by the paper as a breaking news reporter. He was interviewed by N. C. State University student journalist Olivia Soosaar about his award-winning story,
“I don’t want to leave. I built this house” published in The Auburn Plainsman. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: How long did it take you to write this (Auburn gentrification) story and gather all necessary information?

A: I think I started reporting around November 2018 and published in it early December/mid-December.

Q: What was most surprising to you about this story?

A: So, I think what most surprised me was the actual developer. He was so upfront about how he was going about building the complexes and why he was choosing this neighborhood. It just clicked in my head that this is what these residents are saying, and this developer is admitting to that. I think I talked to him off the record.

I was surprised by just how much the people who lived there recalled the history about the land, and how much it connected to the residents there.

Q: What drew you to this story and motivated you to write it?

A: The Plainsman is divided into a campus section, lifestyle, community, sports. I didn’t live on campus; the community made the most sense to me, writing about anything that’s not about the university.

I remember being really anxious about having story ideas and finding stories. One time, I just drove around the Black neighborhood of Auburn, and at the time, I was reading a bunch about Black history in the South. I just drove around and would ask residents if there was something they thought I should cover.

One woman was hesitant to talk to me at first, and she told me to call this number because she was at risk of being displaced. I called her and she was hesitant to talk. … I knocked on her door and told her I didn’t want to just write a story that was 500 words. At first, she had no reason to trust me, and then we talked almost 10 times.

Q: Was there a reaction on campus after this story was published?

A: I was taking a poetry class at the time and (the instructor) brought the newspaper in and said everyone needs to read this, which was really sweet. I remember getting texts from pals who had read it and said it was really great, and some professors who said it was really well done.

I also remember other professors saying this is BS. They don’t need to live there; if they want to leave they can leave. Other developers would say the same thing at City Council meetings: “We’re just doing our job.”

Q: All residents interviewed seemed eager to share their experiences and feelings. How did you choose who to include or exclude when conducting interviews and constructing your piece?

A: There were definitely some people who would never respond when I knocked on their doors or would say “I’m not interested.” Starting out, I was a bit too persistent, but just because I knew it was so important, and I was younger and more ambitious. The others were really grateful that they could have a chance to finally voice their frustrations, and they were really surprised that I was writing about it.

This speaks to how most newspapers do a bad job at covering Black communities and other minority communities. That’s when I was learning that newspapers were bad at that because people were so surprised. I was face to face with what I was learning in textbooks.

Q: Did you encounter anyone who did not want to talk or gave you a hard time? How did you navigate that?

A: Most important was (Collins) who starts off the story. She was so trusting of me.

There is no one way (to get people to talk to you). You just have to be upfront with your intentions and be genuine, whatever that means to you.

Q: How did this story impact your career or inspire your post-graduate plans?

A: I didn’t know what kind of reception I was going to get or if people were going to read it. I got some comments and engagement, and the City Council discussed it, so it had some impact.

That made me want to create in-depth stories that get to the emotion of issues. These stories that, if they are done decently, they can really resonate with readers. It’s easier said than done because not many newspapers will give you that chance.

The things that make me really happy are these long, narrative stories.

Q: What contribution to The Auburn Plainsman were you most proud of?

A: I guess it’s the stories I wrote about different communities and communities of color; that was my main thing I wanted to explore. The Plainsman is heavily majority white, and I really don’t know that those stories would have been told.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring journalists in college?

A: There’s so many avenues with journalism and communication. There is no piece of advice that is a golden ticket that will get you to where you want to be. That’s BS because there’s so many ways to succeed. Whatever you like and whatever you’re interested in, just do that and work hard at that.

One thing that helps me a lot is remembering things will be OK in the long run. I have made so many mistakes, but that’s because we are starting out. Even further down the line you’ll make mistakes. What’s important is bouncing back from that. I can sulk and moan, but the next day I have to get back to it and back to writing.