Raúl Sánchez of elDiario.es enjoys helping audiences understand issues
Editor's Inbox | 15 March 2023
Editor’s note: In an ongoing series, INMA is profiling our most engaged members — our super fans. Today we profile Raúl Sánchez, data team coordinator for elDiario.es in Madrid, Spain.
Raúl Sánchez, data team coordinator for elDiario.es in Madrid, Spain, enjoys making a difference. In fact, he said, “working on big stories that make an impact on the public and help them to understand complex issues” is the thing that gets him out of bed in the morning. And, as the world becomes increasingly digitalised, he said he realises that digital newspapers must take more (and better) actions to reach readers.
INMA recently caught up with Sánchez to learn more about him.
INMA: If you had your career to do over again, what would you want to know in the beginning?
Sánchez: How to code with R and Javascript.
INMA: What is the craziest job or project you’ve ever done in media — and what did you learn from it?
Sánchez: Spain lives in flats, [and we did] a project where we mapped more than 12 million buildings in the country to prove that we live in heights.
INMA: What success within your company are you most proud of right now?
Sánchez: The national and international recognition of the data team at elDiario.es.
INMA: What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your career?
Sánchez: The biggest is that we (as journalists) must write simple and short because we have to respect the time of the people who read us.
INMA: What do you do to relax?
Sánchez: Run.
INMA: If you hadn’t gone into news media, what was your backup plan?
Sánchez: I would have done physics and maybe researched particles.
INMA: What is your favourite thing to read?
Sánchez: Sci-fi and fantasy novels.
INMA: What do you find the most challenging/interesting about the news media industry right now?
Sánchez: The explainer approach that the biggest media outlets are starting to apply; they want readers not only to read the news but also to understand them.