Journalist
Laura Castañeda began her career as a production assistant in her hometown of Chicago at ABC 7 in 1987. She was hired as a reporter at KGUN The ABC station in Tucson, Ariz., and later KGTV The ABC station in San Diego, where she covered the U.S./Mexico border, and law enforcement beats. In 2000, she left local news to work on longer format stories with the team at Cox Communications Channel 4's, San Diego Insider Magazine and Stories de la Frontera.
In 2005, she assembled a team of border reporters, photographers and documentary filmmakers to tell original, compelling stories on both sides of the international border. The show won two Emmy Awards for Best Magazine Show and aired on KPBS-TV, with screenings in San Diego, Tucson, Ariz., Chicago and Riverside.
In 2020, Castañeda was hired at The San Diego Union-Tribune where she is a deputy editor on the Opinion team and a member of the Editorial Board.
