Frank del Olmo is rolling in his grave
Frank del Olmo is a award winning Los Angeles Times reporter specializing in immigration issues. He was born in 1948 in Pocoima, California and was one of five children. He initially began his college career at University of California, Los Angeles but transferred to California State University, Northridge in 1968.
This was a tumultuous time for many college campuses across the country, and CSUN was no different. A number of racially charged incidents on campus led to controversial protests and arrests. However, it was the demands presented at these protests that birthed various ethnic and area studies that are now central to CSUN’s identity.
Del Olmo was always passionate about journalism and was frequently featured on the front page of student publications, The Sundial and El Popo. His passion was apparent, and he was picked up to be an intern for Los Angeles Times shortly after graduating. He would go on to work at LA Times for over 30 years, working his way up to associate editor, before suffering a heart attack in his office at age 55.
Del Olmo set a precedent for reporting in the Latino community. He worked as a voice for the frequently unheard and implemented various programs to further involve the local Hispanic population in the Los Angeles news scene. He founded the California Chicano News Media Association in 1972, and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1984 for a shared series titled “Southern California’s Latino Community”.
As chronicled in CSUN’s archives, del Olmo utilized a wide array of sources and elements for his stories. Through his intricate record keeping, we are able to take a look into his reporting methods.
Beyond his own notes, del Olmo incorporated information from court documents, unpublished stories, scientific and legal studies, articles from other journalists, and various papers wired to him from colleagues around the world.
He had boxes upon boxes of notarized documents from over the years. The amount of information presented to us was almost overwhelming, and this was only a fraction of his material. It was clear that he did not take research lightly. An important aspect of journalism is to remain unbiased, and del Olmo’s effort to do so were clear. He read and studied reports or articles with conflicting information just as much as he did for information that supported his stories.
Frank del Olmo will be remembered for his innovative and fearless coverage of issues facing the Southern California Latino community, and his archives further prove his unparalleled dedication to covering the uncovered.