March 28, 2023
Daisy Nguyen covers Early Childhood Education and Care for KQED. She previously covered breaking news for The Associated Press. During her 21 years there, her feature stories focused on transportation, climate change and agriculture. Her newspaper experience included internships at the St. Paul Pioneer Press in Minnesota, the Arlington Star-Telegram in Texas, the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek and Sud Ouest in Southwestern France. She lives in Oakland with her son, daughter and husband.
What drew you to the early childhood beat?
The public is paying more attention to early childhood. I think this is a good time to elevate stories concerning young children and the people responsible for their well-being and hold accountable the people whose decisions affect their future.
From your perspective, how has media coverage of pregnancy, young children and child care changed over time?
I see a higher volume of stories about pregnancy, young children and child care because of the urgency surrounding alarming rates of maternal mortality and preterm births in the U.S. and the child care industry’s slow pandemic recovery, which is putting a burden on caregivers and hampering women’s ability to go back to work. I also think we need to keep track of the pandemic’s effects on young children and their development.
What do you hope changes about the coverage of “women’s issues” and early childhood development in the future?
This beat intersects with so many pressing issues, including socioeconomic, gender and racial disparities in our society. I hope more coverage will lead to better awareness — because “women’s issues” should be everyone’s issues — and people recognizing the importance of early childhood development.
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