Sandra Dibble spends most of her work day south of the border where she’s as confident as a hometown journalist, embraced by a network of Mexican reporters and the vibrant culture of Tijuana.
As a border reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune, Dibble covers news, events and issues at the border and in Mexico, and relays how it affects the people of San Diego.
«A lot of what I end up doing is looking for linkages between south and north,» Dibble said.
The 23-year U-T veteran covers topics including the North American Trade Agreement (NAFTA), law enforcement, culture, environmental issues and border infrastructure.
«Not just breaking news, you take an issue and you put it into perspective,» said Dibble, who said her favorite stories are news features.
Dibble considers her news feature, «Mexico’s New Plan to Save Rare Vaquita Porpoise,» one of her more important stories. It described an event involving the endangered species and Mexico’s plan to prevent the extinction of the mammal.
«It’s global news because it’s a dying species,» Dibble said.
Other stories Dibble covers have more of an impact on the daily life of San Diegans, such as her recent piece on the planned 57-hour closure of southbound lanes at the San Ysidro border crossing.
Dibble believes stories are not for the reporter, but for the audience.
«Your opinion does not matter; you’re not that interesting,» Dibbles explained. «What’s interesting is the information so get the facts out there.»
An international journalism fellowship, which led her to work in Mexico, kindled her career in border reporting.
Dibble studied Spanish in high school and now speaks like a native. Through her work and travel, she has immersed herself in the Mexican culture.
She enjoys spending her free time south of the border, visiting the opera, going to classical concerts and perfecting the Mexican ballroom dance, Danzón. She has also spent time singing with a Tijuana opera chorus.
«There’s so much to do in Tijuana, culturally,» Dibble said, «so I love going down there just because I know the scene.»
Mia Rollins is a member of the U-T Community Journalism Scholars Program.
More about Sandra Dibble:
Sandra Dibble was born in Egypt, raised in Europe, the Middle East, and the United States, and has spent much of her career writing about international and multicultural topics. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Arabic from the University of Utah and a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. She spent a year on an international journalism fellowship in which she traveled and studied in Mexico.She worked at The Miami Herald for nearly a decade, specializing in coverage of the Cuban, Nicaraguan and Haitian communities, and was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize in national reporting for uncovering the Reagan administration’s clandestine support of the Nicaraguan Contras. She spent three years at The National Geographic, where assignments included writing feature articles about Paraguay and Oaxaca. She has covered the have covered the Tijuana-San Diego border since since 1994.
(From San Diego Union Tribune)
