About
Alena Maschke is an award-winning reporter, writer and producer who has covered breaking news, business, politics and communities in Southern California, Florida and New York. Currently she works as a freelance journalist and digital producer for German broadcaster ZDF in Guadalajara, Mexico. Alena holds a graduate degree in data journalism from the Columbia University School of Journalism and enjoys working on data-driven feature stories as well as explanatory and solutions-focused journalism.
Experience
Reporter, Long beach business journal/Long Beach Post
November 2018 - November 2021
As the member of a small but powerful team, I cover breaking news, policy and business topics across the board, with a special focus on the expanding local cannabis industry. I hosted and produced the Business Journal’s first podcast.
Listen here:
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watchdog reporter, The desert sun
September 2017 - Oktober 2018
I covered the communities of Indio and Coachella in the eastern Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun. My reporting focused on local government, but I also reported stories across different beats, such as the environment, immigration and business development. I spent Monday nights listening to the police scanner or rushing to the next wildfire as a contributing member of the breaking news team.
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reporting intern, naples daily news
June 2017 - September 2017
As a reporting intern at the Naples Daily News, I produced reporting in a variety of formats, including data-driven stories, features and news briefs. During my first week, I reported on the reactions of local Cuban and Venezuelan immigrants to President Donald Trump's Cuba policy, which he presented during a visit to Miami. As one of my last projects, I finished a data-driven story on flower imports, including an original visualization, and accompanied a young woman from an undocumented family during her last days at home before moving to NYC and fulfilling her dream of studying fashion.
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Contributing Writer & producer, Hereyouare
October 2016 - May 2017
While attending journalism school at the University of Columbia in New York, I reported and produced short, informational videos as well as narrative content for Hereyouare, a digital-only magazine targeting an urban, millennial audience. The videos primarily focused on local issues such as food vending licenses and the planned shutdown of the L-Train between Manhattan and Brooklyn, and were produced primarily for social media distribution. As one of my last projects, I covered the inauguration of Donald Trump in January 2017.
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archive assistant, Rtl studio berlin
April 2012 - September 2014
As an archival assistant at the capital studio of Germany's largest private broadcasting company, I was responsible for preparing and archiving incoming video footage for future broadcast use. In this role, I also assisted producers by locating and providing appropriate archival footage for news segments on deadline and digitizing taped material.
Language Skills
Education
columbia university graduate school of journalism
DATA JOURNALISM
Class of ‘17
humboldt university, berlin
B.A. AMERICAN STUDIES / GENDER STUDIES
Class of ‘16
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES
VISITING SCHOLAR (CHICANO/A STUDIES, ENGLISH LIT., GENDER STUDIES)
September 2014 - June 2015