Harika Maddala

Harika Maddala is a journalist and visual storyteller based in Sacramento, California. She currently works as an Alert Desk Curator at Hearst TV, writing breaking news stories and coordinating digital coverage for multiple Hearst stations. Before that, she spent three years as a staff photojournalist at Bay City News, where she helped develop the visual department for both the wire service and its nonprofit newsroom as the team's only photographer. During this time, she also worked as a CatchLight Local fellow and a Report for America Corps member, documenting everyday stories in the Central Valley. Harika has collaborated with photojournalists on longform projects, led a team of photographers at a nonprofit for over two years, and is passionate about the editorial side of visual journalism. She sees photo editing as the place where her love for storytelling and visual instinct come together.