Bulbul Rajagopal

✨Personal news✨ I'm now a full-time staff writer for @NewTimesSLO! Thrilled to join this amazing newsroom and cover the Central Coast's local govt/cops/crime, what have you. Feel free to DM story tips! Here's my first major cover story for them: newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/…

Good personal news: Won 1st place for 2022 election coverage at @CNPAservices, competing against California's largest weeklies. After COVID, our paper didn't submit award entries to save money — that's how bad things were. So feels good to see us back in the mix & recognized.

My colleagues @BulbulR96 and Taylor O'Connor also took home awards for their work in @NewTimesSLO and the @SantaMariaSun. As a trio we won six in all, one 1st Place and five 2nd Places. We're lucky to have such a talented team here!

I graduate this summer, so I spoke with lots of international students to figure out how to land a journalism job in the US. Turns out interviews often end when recruiters find out candidates will need visa sponsorship. Offers have been rescinded. 🧵 poynter.org/reporting-edit…

SLO County election count update: Ballots counted on election night: ~58K Remaining ballots to be counted, starting Friday: ~28K More ballots will come in over the next few days by mail. It's shaping up to be less of a post-Election Day heavy lift count compared to the primary

SLO County has been collectively waiting for justice for Kristen Smart who went missing in 1996. ✨@pljohnson9 & @BulbulR96✨ captured how the community reacted to Paul Flores', the last person to be with her before she went missing, verdict Oct. 19. newtimesslo.com/sanluisobispo/…

@fritzed_you Close to 100. I worked a lot of freelance reporting gigs right after grad school to survive until then. It took me a year and I had to fight through a lot of self doubt. It WILL work out.

Hi journalism twitter can you pls tell me how many rejections you got before you landed your current job so I feel better lol

@gabekahn Congrats to the whole team!!

The Sunny Acres sober-living facility is rooted in San Luis Obispo County history. But the founder’s arguments with county government leaves participants worried. I’ve investigated this internal combustion for @NewTimesSLO, and it’s finally ready. shorturl.at/eqzM4

@FelTap He’s getting replaced in the new one with Josh Duhamel??

@bposton What a lovely story, Ben! I’m so glad you wrote this.

After 23 years of wandering, my Dad and I finally completed the Appalachian Trail this August in Maine. In many ways, our journey on the trail is also our life story. I tried to capture some of that here in this personal essay for the LA Times. latimes.com/california/sto…

@battymamzelle I asked my shopper to get one bunch of bananas. He got me…one banana.

@cynduja @business @MotherJones Congrats Sinduja!!

🚨Some Professional News:🚨 Joining Bloomberg/ @business starting this week as a senior investigative data reporter. Still based in San Francisco. Had a blast at @MotherJones. One of the kindest, humane orgs I have been part of. Onward.

Inbox: An "urgent" update on COVID-19 in San Luis Obispo County is happening tomorrow afternoon. Speakers will include PH Officer Penny Borenstein and private hospital CEOs Mark Lisa and Alan Iftiniuk.

@meghnacarta @AP ♥️♥️♥️

@ChimikaCha @Lolwe_ @culturas Big fan of your writing, Fiske!

I wrote an essay inspired by my @Lolwe_ essay, Naming Rites. In Huh? Can You Repeat That? I talked to two Zambian women with off-beat names. Thank you to @culturas and @BulbulR96 for giving this a home. culturas.us/2021/04/27/huh… via @Culturas

@haleybosselman @culturasus Amazing story, Haley! Thank you for all your advice 🙌🏾

wrote my final story for culturas about the U.S. healing because most calls for unity are empty and misguided. more importantly, i can't wait to see how @BulbulR96 leads @culturasus into the future🥳 culturas.us/2021/01/17/to-…

@cathykilledjian Congrats Catttt ♥️🎉

ok y’all caught me, i got a new job and start in 2 weeks 😌💖

@sherlyholmes Finding out that our university may potentially kick us out of housing right when the pandemic gripped the nation. Before we knew it, we were saying goodbye to each other in sheer panic and sadness.

What is your most indelible memory of 2020 thus far? I’m talking specific — a single image, interaction, moment

My latest story for @capitalandmain focuses on the Flores Exhibits. They serve as audiovisual evidence in the fight to reinstate the Flores Settlement. Read it here: capitalandmain.com/bearing-witnes…