Bianca Hernandez
Interactive producer (5 years out)

Bianca Hernandez

Posted on December 1, 2017 at 12:00 PM

From ABC to Facebook to NPR/PBS-affiliate KQED, Bianca Hernandez (News, 2011) has run through the journalism field with ease since leaving Chico State.

While attending the university, Hernandez found power within and looked up to the strong female instructors, specifically J&PR Chair Susan Wiesinger.

“Susan’s classes always included new media and a lot of new studies and discussions," Hernandez said. "That was really, really important to me because journalism is changing. It is constantly evolving with technology. I think that really helped me focus less on things like pagination and more about coding a site.”

But J&PR was not Hernandez’ only influence.

Before transferring to Chico State, she completed her associate’s degree in liberal studies at Bakersfield College.

While at Chico State she pursued a range of side hobbies, including presiding over the Harry Potter Club.

After leaving Chico State, Hernandez built on her anthropology minor by completing her master’s degree in visual anthropology at the University of Southern California.

This wide range of interests has led Hernandez to develop a few interesting side endeavors, including dressmaking, an Etsy site called Bookhoarding and co-founding the popular Drunk Austen Facebook community and blog.

Today the parody blog has garnered more than 43,000 likes on Facebook. Hernandez and Drunk Austen co-founder Robin Epley (News & English, 2012) have been invited to bookstores and conferences to speak about their blog and success.

During the 2016 election, Hernandez recalls the need to decompress from work and the serious side life. That necessity resonated with the Drunk Austen audience to facilitate a safe space for fun and a break from reality.

Hernandez’ day job is working as an interactive producer for San Francisco-based KQED.

“It’s the ideal way a newsroom should be but very few are actually that,” Hernandez said. “It’s everything that a newsroom should be ethically and structurally so it’s been really fun.”

Hernandez attributes her success to having experience in digital, broadcast, radio, photography and writing. That has made her competitive in the journalism field.

“My whole goal is that I want to work at BBC at some point in my life,” Hernandez said. “What they do for journalism, I think it’s really great.”

Bianca Hernandez Interactive Producer, KQED (5 years out)

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By Jae Siqueiros