Natashya Gutierrez

Natashya Gutierrez, is a Filipino journalist best known for her work as a multimedia reporter for internet news organization Rappler. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of VICE in Asia-Pacific.

Early life and education

The middle child of businessman Francis Gutierrez and Tina Lazcanotegui, the latter with Spanish ancestry, Gutierrez received her education from St. Pedro Poveda College and International School Manila (ISM), graduating in 2006. Gutierrez graduated cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in psychology in 2010.

As a Yale Journalism scholar, Gutierrez worked with various publications, was a reporter for the undergraduate-run monthly television newsmagazine YTV News, and was co-editor-in-chief of the Yale Journal of Human Rights.

Career

Rappler

After graduation, Gutierrez first took up a job with a digital marketing firm in New York City and then moved to Dallas to work for a public relations firm. A trip back to the Philippines put her in contact with journalist Maria Ressa, who invited her to become a reporter for Rappler, where she regularly anchored the daily Rappler Newscast.

Stories in which Gutierrez' coverage have played a significant role include the 2013 Serendra explosion, in which her coverage raised questions about whether the gas responsible for the explosion had been odorless and may thus have made residents unable to detect the leak; and the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.

In August 2013, the latter coverage resulted in Janet Lim-Napoles filing a libel case against Gutierrez, a number of other journalists, and a blogger who had posted pictures allegedly of Napoles' daughter, depicting a supposedly lavish lifestyle.

Gutierrez also served as Rappler's bureau chief in Indonesia.