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Reporter Juan Pablo Perez-Burgos is leaving BenitoLink after nearly two years for The San Francisco Standard where he will cover the emerging AI industry.
Perez-Burgos, who hails from Colombia, said he will most remember experiencing local journalism as a “public service” for San Benito County residents, and the breadth of feedback he got from BenitoLink readers, in contrast to his experience in his native country.
“To keep a community alive you have to keep them informed,” he said. “That’s what BenitoLink does. I got a different view of journalism.”
Since he joined BenitoLink in September 2024 through the California Local News Fellowship, Perez-Burgos mostly covered the San Benito County government beat, as well as general assignment reporting.
Perez-Burgos said his most memorable reporting experience at BenitoLink was when he reported on what he called the “mental health crisis of suicide in the rural U.S.” as part of an extended BenitoLink article in partnership with The Guardian titled “BL Longform: When we lose community members to suicide.”
The article centered on the 2018 death by suicide of the late former San Juan Bautista mayor Jim West, and explored how suicide impacts smaller, rural communities that often offer less access to services.
“It was a very sensitive topic, but I learned a lot about suicide,” he said,
In conclusion, Perez-Burgos said he appreciated the opportunity to work for BenitoLink in covering the community.
“I feel really grateful; I’ve been taught a lot (about reporting) in a deeper way,” he said. “I’ve spoken with people who are very dedicated to their community and that’s very admirable, and I think of BenitoLink that way, too.”
BenitoLink Executive Director Leslie David and the team thank Perez-Burgos for his dedication in covering local news for San Benito County’s premiere news organization.
“Juan Pablo is a quick learner and had an opportunity to try different kinds of reporting at BenitoLink,” David said. “The fact that his native language is Spanish was a challenge for him but he didn’t let that get in the way of his desire to select just the right word or phrase. We were fortunate to have him on the team, even for a short while.”
Reporter Noe Magana said Perez-Burgos was a valued member of the reporting staff.
“I will miss bouncing ideas off Juan Pablo and discussing issues that overlapped in our beats,” Magana said, adding that he also enjoyed, “listening to his anecdotes about reporting in his native country and debating about sports, especially with the World Cup around the corner.”
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