Tino Garcia, 5, plays under the shower at Weber Point Events Center in Stockton, Calif., on May 31, 2023.
Born and raised in India, Harika Maddala moved to the United States with their family at age 19. Maddala is a visual journalist who graduated from San Francisco State University majoring in Photojournalism with a minor in International Relations. They are currently working with Bay City News wire service and affiliated Local News Matters site, supported by the nonprofit Bay City News Foundation. In 2021, Maddala placed in the top 10 in Hearst Journalism Awards for their multimedia story about a police-involved killing in Vallejo published by Golden Gate Xpress. In the same year, they also won the Fran Ortiz grant for their work with the families who lost their loved ones to police violence in the Bay Area. Their love for journalism comes from their mother who worked as a political news show host at a radio station in India.
Bay City News Foundation serves the San Francisco Bay Area via this free LocalNewsMatters.org website and is backed by charitable donations from contributors who care about local news, a free press, democratic values and an informed citizenry. We target geographic and topical news deserts. We collaborate with other media. We experiment with technology. We work with journalism schools to train the next generation of reporters.
CatchLight Local is a visual journalism initiative made possible thanks to the generous support of individuals, foundations, and corporations including the Emerson Collective and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Enlight Foundation, The John S and James L Knight Foundation, Kresge Foundation, and our education partner PhotoWings.