Today we’d like to introduce you to Patricia Buitron.
Hi Patricia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My journey began the way many of the best stories do — out of necessity. I had just moved from Miami to Jacksonville and was finally getting the opportunity to work with Univision as it launched in the city. I had dreamed of becoming a news director, but that dream never materialized. Suddenly, the project collapsed in Jacksonville, and although I already had my own segment, I was left without a job and nowhere else to apply.
People often told me I should do something more “entertaining,” but my background as a lawyer in both Colombia and Costa Rica kept pulling me toward something deeper — the urgent need for information in my Hispanic community. When Univision left, and although other Hispanic projects existed at the time, I saw them slowly disappear. I knew my calling was to inform, to connect, to serve.
I realized that if I wanted to reach a city as large and spread out as Jacksonville, social media would have to be my tool. I had seen many great initiatives fail to reach the full community, and I thought: what’s something we all carry in our pockets? A phone. That became my microphone.
That’s how Tu Zona Neutral was born — the name of my company and the original name of what is now Notijax, the only Hispanic news outlet in the city. It started small, with love and determination, and it grew because the need was real. And I was ready to answer it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When someone tells me they want to do what I do, I always say I’ll gladly train them — for free — because I’m sure they’ll give up quickly. What I do wasn’t just hard to start; it remains extremely difficult to this day, just for different reasons.
When I began, social media was still relatively new for shows — and absolutely new for delivering news. The “news influencer” format didn’t even exist, not in Jacksonville in English, let alone in Spanish. The challenges I faced at the beginning were countless — from figuring out how to make a live show work, to how on earth I would get it sponsored (which, by the way, is still a challenge — lol).
I could tell a thousand stories, but one vivid image always comes to mind: me breastfeeding my youngest daughter while using my other hand to strip a cable so a light would work in my makeshift studio — with zero knowledge of anything electrical. I had no money. I even got flagged at Best Buy because the mother of a newborn was showing up every day to exchange a cable that didn’t work. That warning was lifted once I started buying expensive equipment and Alienware computers, no longer having to strip cables while holding my baby just to get the studio lights working.
Those brutally hard memories — staying up all night with my baby, standing on chairs, catching the sunrise after spending the whole night installing software and guessing my way through unfamiliar programs — they fill me with pride now. They remind me that anything is possible.
I had incredible support. My lifelong friend Paola Worthington, a systems engineer, had endless patience with me — someone who had only ever worked in front of a teleprompter, reading or interviewing — as I struggled to understand her world. My friend Miguel helped secure my very first sponsors without earning a single dollar. And my husband gave everything he had to help me make that little studio a reality.
When the project began to grow, my mom came to help care for the baby so I could finally treat it like a business. And now, whenever I visit a professional studio and the owner asks me, “Can you run the lights, the audio, the software, and go live all at once?” I just smile and say:
“Need and hardship teach you a lot.”
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my life before social media, I was a lawyer — first in Colombia, then in Costa Rica, where I earned several graduate degrees in forensic sciences. I was also a lecturer and university professor in those fields in both countries. But the moment I appeared on my first television program — very young at the time — I knew that despite all the sacrifices I had made (and my mother had made for my education), this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
So I started with what I had and tried to break into media — though I never really had the chance to do what I do now. Back then, I was young and carried the stigma many Colombian women face: that we’re great for telenovelas. I did a few artistic things, but I never felt talented or comfortable in that role. What I truly wanted was to incorporate my legal knowledge into something useful for others, something that involved communication.
I studied U.S. law at Florida International University in Miami and graduated with honors — which made me consider validating my law degree here in the United States. But deep down, I always felt that my accent would make me less effective than I had once been, and that insecurity followed me for years. Maybe I would have fought to overcome it… if it hadn’t been for television. It gave me the platform I had always dreamed of — and with that, I realized I didn’t really want to be a lawyer again. I wanted to dedicate my life to community service through communication.
And I believe it was the best decision I ever made. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to go back to being a lawyer — not even if someone offered me the degree as a gift! 😂
The legal world is beautiful, but it’s also emotionally complex — and as we get older, our hearts get softer. I don’t think I’d have the strength or the temperament anymore for that kind of work.
Nothing makes me happier than Notijax — the community we’ve built, the stories we tell, and the people we serve. That’s my purpose.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Oh wow — I use so many things that I could probably fill the entire interview just listing them!
What I do is incredibly complex. To communicate what I want to say on social media — especially as a news influencer — I need to start with the right sources. In this line of work, one fake news story can be your grave. I’ve spent 8 years building credibility, and I protect it like gold. That means reading the news constantly, listening to podcasts, following reliable pages and other creators — it’s an ongoing process of research.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once I confirm the news, I still have to write it — perfectly — and then choose or create the right image, make the reel, and publish it at the right time. I do have some wonderful people who help me with sponsored content, but when it comes to the actual news and daily posts — I don’t let anyone else touch it. I do it all myself.
That’s why I’ve had to become a one-woman production studio. I’ve learned to use countless apps for design, editing, and writing. And in the rare moments I have free, I use them to discover new tools that might help me save time. I also lean heavily on people who know more than I do — I have no shame in asking for help from experts or learning from anyone who’s a step ahead.
Honestly, it feels like I’m in a daily race — against the algorithm, against time, and most of all, against myself. But I love it. And every resource I find that helps me tell a story better or faster becomes part of my toolbox.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.notijax.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notijax_la_voz_de_los_hispanos/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notijax/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2phnChDNTGRGqbPg55hiDQ
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@notijaxnotijax
