Meet a Reporter: Jesus Jiménez

By Judy Wang

Jesus covers news in communities across North Texas and is a part of a new hub of Times journalists dedicated to capturing the state through a variety of lenses, including business, culture, religion and politics.

He originally joined The Times as a breaking news reporter in 2021, reporting on a range of topics including sports, weather and crime. He spoke to us about his approach to covering the vast, multifaceted Texas landscape, his dedication to challenging stereotypes and his personal recommendations for exploring the state.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What drew you to reporting on Texas?

I wrote for the Dallas Morning News before I came into the Times, and I've grown up in the Dallas area my whole life. I spent a few years in New York, and then I was in Los Angeles last year to help build out our California team. But when I heard that we were building up a Texas hub, it was hard to pass up a chance to come and report on my hometown.

How do you approach reporting on such a vast and multifaceted state?

I think a lot of people don't understand how big Texas truly is, including myself sometimes. Earlier this year, a tornado hit the North Texas area, and my editor called and asked if I could go. I looked at a map, and it was a two-and-a-half hour drive away, even though it was still in North Texas. Texas is huge - you can drive for a few hours in any direction and everything changes. Even the culture in downtown Dallas and Fort Worth are very different, and I'll sometimes push back when people lump the two together. Like, when someone writes that something is "west of Dallas," I'll say, actually, let's go with west of Fort Worth, because that's more accurate and may help situate the reader better.

Texas is also frequently subject to national stereotypes. How do you uncover stories that move beyond those tropes to reveal the state's true complexity?

I love pushing back on Texas stereotypes, and those are some of my favorite stories to write. I had a story published in April about how restaurant owners in Texas were calling for some sort of work permit for immigrants because they were having a hard time finding labor amid the immigration crackdown. There's a national coalition calling for these work permits, but we wanted to do the story out of Texas because it was very telling how, even in a conservative state, you have business owners calling for it. I think it was a good way of showing people that the state isn't necessarily this big, conservative monolith.

This summer, you covered the excitement surrounding the World Cup's arrival . How has this global event acted as a lens for your reporting?

We published a project that tried to show how immigrant diasporas across the U.S. are celebrating the World Cup. We picked 13 teams in different cities and did a story on how fans are reacting to the matches. It turned into a deeper-dive story that explained how so many Portuguese immigrants wound up in Rhode Island, or how a family from Argentina ended up in Utah. I drove to Plano, where we reported on the scene at a German restaurant that has been around for three decades. I also spent some time in L.A., Providence and Astoria just to talk to business owners and soccer fans.

When you aren't on an assignment, where are your favorite places to travel in the state?

I really love Galveston. Even though the beaches aren't the nicest, I just love the charm of the city. It's got a really interesting history too. There was a big hurricane in 1900 that destroyed the area, so they had to raise the city and build a sea wall. I'm hoping to make another trip later this year.

Lastly, I have to ask - what's the best place to get brisket in Texas?

I'll stick to Dallas and go with a place called The Slow Bone. They're only open for lunch and only until they sell out. It's a little out of my way, so when I go, I make sure to get a big brisket sandwich.