Meet Kayla Rivera | Reporter & On-Air Personality

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kayla Rivera and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kayla, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
In September of 2020, I was laid off from my news job at CBS46 News in Atlanta due to COVID-19 budget cuts. It was a job I loved very much and to be laid off crushed me. However, I understood it was out of my control and had nothing to do with me personally. I was laid off with hundreds of amazing reporters, photographers, producers, anchors, etc.

After a few weeks of applying for work, I decided to launch my own news site (newswithkayla.com). I loved reporting, had the skill set to launch my own site, and also had a lot of content from my work at CBS46 News. I made sure not to think about it too much so I wouldn’t talk myself out of it and just started posting all of my professional work. From there, I hit the ground running looking for more content to add to my site. I literally — to this day — email hundreds of managers and publicists DAILY searching for stories, interviews, you name it!

In the beginning, I was not getting any responses back and felt discouraged and uninspired. But, like I tell everyone, it only takes ONE yes. And that’s exactly what happened. A publicist reached out to me and we were able to knock out four separate interviews with her clients.

And, honestly, the rest is history. From that one yes, I was able to build my site and continue to grow my brand. My celebrity interviews got bigger, the events I got access to became bigger as well and my news site started to gain a lot of traction.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My back story:

My career is in journalism and I am a Reporter/Journalist. I grew up in the Bronx in a traditional Puerto Rican household. Growing up, I lived in a really bad area in the Bronx and as a result, my parents never really allowed me to play outside alone or in the neighborhood with friends. I used to play at home with my siblings and family members but when it came to hanging out outside that wasn’t really allowed.

Instead, I used to go upstairs to my grandmother’s room and hang out with her. I really enjoyed spending time with her. I remember just going upstairs and laying on her lap and watching whatever she had on. And, funny enough, she was always watching the news. So, I would too. And even at seven years old, I used to love watching the news. I was always curious about how these people on TV would find a story, investigate it, and then tell the exact same story in detail. The first news story me and my grandmother ever followed was the Natalee Holloway story. It was so heartbreaking but that story truly put fire in me to become a journalist.

At 14, I made the decision that I wanted to study journalism. I did my junior and senior year of high school in one year and graduated high school at 16. I started college the same year and graduated in just three years with my Bachelor’s Degree in Radio and Television Production from Mercy College.

From there I took time off to figure out what I really wanted to do. I applied to hundreds of news jobs and for some reason couldn’t land just one. I became discouraged and even doubted if this is what I should be doing. But, I kept going because I knew there was no other profession in the world that would make me as happy as I am reporting and working in news. I then decided to enroll in graduate school a few years after receiving my Bachelor’s Degree. I graduated with my Master’s Degree in Journalism in 2017 and reported for several publications in the Bronx and New York City.

My journalism journey has not been easy at all but it has been worth it. I truly love it and what I do. There were so many nights in graduate school I didn’t think I was going to make it. Going to school full-time, working, maintaining my own apartment, bills, and having to report on stories every day was extremely hard. But, by the grace of God and with lots of prayers, I graduated.

After graduation, I found out I was pregnant and decided to join my family in moving from the Bronx to Atlanta. After I gave birth to my baby girl Riley I went on the hunt looking for work. I was in a city where I knew nothing, no one, had no news resources, and really wanted to get back into working in my field. I was eventually hired by CBS46 News and it was like a dream come true. I was working as a journalist in a top ten news market doing what I love.

It was like everything I had worked so hard for had finally paid off for me. I worked there for almost two years before getting laid off. I had the opportunity to cover local news, protests, covid-19, entertainment stories, and also do stories that highlight the Latin culture.

My current story and brand:

newswithkayla.com is the news site that I launched because I ultimately did not want to get rusty with my writing and reporting since I had just been laid off and knew it would be difficult looking for work during a pandemic. I launched it with the idea that it would serve as my portfolio for my job applications. However, it turned into something much bigger. After I got my first YES from a publicist to cover her client’s story I then became even more motivated. I emailed so many people a day I lost track. One Yes turned into several more yeses and before I knew it my site started growing.

So far, I have interviewed Lecrae, Vedo, Lil’ Mo, Olivia Song, Andy Mineo, Bobby V, Toosii, the cast of Tyler Perry’s ‘Sistas,’ and so many more ALL for my news site. I got to cover local events from Love and Hip Hop Atlanta’s Yandy Smith’s grand opening, Spice (also from LHHA) album release party, ATL ‘Birthday Bash’ 25, to a local Puerto Rican Artist celebrating her culture by taking over the Atlanta BeltLine with her artwork — again all for my news site. I also got to branch into the Latin market and was able to cover one of the biggest Latin Award Shows, ‘Premios Juventud’ where I interviewed Farruko, Jay Wheeler, Justin Quiles, Kali Uchis, Sebastian Yatra, also got to cover Sech, Sagcy, Jamsha, Barbie Rican, Eladio Carrion concerts in Atlanta and so many more!

I also created several segments for my site like ‘5 Questions Nobody Ever Asks’ which is a fun, rapid-fire segment I created where I get to ask my interviewers 5 questions they don’t normally get asked to allow those watching to get to know them on a different level.

I created ‘Artists on The Rise’ where I interview artists making waves in the industry.

I have done a lot with my news site in almost a year. Things I could have never imagined looking back. Even though my site is still growing and people are just now starting to figure out who Kayla Rivera is, the kind of journalist I am and the stories I tell, the site has managed to gain 3,000-6,000 monthly clicks.

It’s been extremely hard managing my site. I literally do everything. I created the site, manage the content, research content for hours, email hundreds of managers and publicists daily, coordinate the interview, set up for the interview whether it’s via Zoom or in-person, edit all of the content, add graphics, upload it to Youtube, write the article, upload the video to the article, create the channel art, and then create 1-2 minute videos to promote it on my social media handles to create traffic to the site. It is SO hard at times. Any day I have an interview it truly consumes my entire day because I give myself a same-day deadline. At times, I want to give up if I get too overwhelmed, don’t hear back from someone I really want to interview, or even feel frustrated because I am still not where I want to be.

But, I am grateful for every single thing that has happened to me, grateful for all the open and closed doors, and will continue on my journey no matter what.

I want people to know that my journey has been hard but I never gave up. I decided I wanted to be a journalist because I wanted to be a voice to the voiceless. As a Latina who grew up in the Bronx, I saw the power the news had. I saw people who were going through hard times, who couldn’t get justice, or who didn’t have anyone to advocate for them or their situation be heard because of the platform the news gave them. I too wanted to do that for them.

I want the world to know that I have worked extremely hard to be where I am today, have been overlooked by many, but all that matters is that as a Latina Journalist from the Bronx I have defied the odds. I want this more than anything and will continue to work hard to get to where I want to be. Although I have accomplished so much, told some of the biggest stories, interviewed some of the biggest celebrities, there is still a lot I want to do and I’m not where I want to be yet in my career.

I hope I can continue to tell these amazing stories and bring my viewers and supporters some more dope content and interviews. I want people to see me as a respected journalist who overcomes every obstacle thrown my way and loves what she does.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Okay, say I have to say I am still learning Atlanta. I have been here almost three years and I am still learning about places to go but I will say I love the city.

I would probably first take them to the Battery. That’s usually my go-to place when my friends come to town. I will first take them to Anticos to eat. In my opinion, Atlanta doesn’t really have any good pizza (sorry! I’m from NYC haha) BUT I love Anticos pizza. It is so good so I usually take my friends there to eat. Then I would walk around, grab a drink from one of the stands and if it’s baseball season definitely take them to a game.

I would also take them to Ponce City Market, I love going to the rooftop. It’s definitely a cool place to play games, eat, drink and have a pretty cool view with a nice vibe.

If they are here for a week, I would have to take them to Dave’s Cheesesteaks. Probably the best philly cheesesteak I have ever had so I would make sure I take them too because that place is awesome.

I am still learning so there are still a lot of places I haven’t been to but I would recommend a picnic at Piedmont Park, going to a Hawks game (love it!), and getting some good soul food. Also, recommend going to Norcross to try out some really good Latin food and lounges.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to a few people. For one, I would like to shout out God for always opening doors in my career, my grandmother who inspired me to pursue journalism. I would also like to shout out my entire family (mom, dad, sister, brother, + husband) for being a helping hand during my late nights at work, overtime, spur-of-the-moment interviews, and events. For always making sure I can be successful in anything I do and of course to my daughter Riley also for inspiring me every day to be a better person.

Website: www.newswithkayla.com

Instagram: theonlykayla

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theonlykayla

Twitter: imkaylarivera

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imkaylarivera

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheOnlyKayla