Lisa Fernandez
Lisa Fernandez is an old-fashioned newspaper reporter who works online in a TV station.
Lisa came to KTVU in 2017 and has worked in the Bay Area as a journalist for more than 30 years.
At KTVU, Lisa covers the sexual abuse scandal at the all-women's FCI Dublin prison, where she was chosen by the Society of Professional Journalists of Northern California in 2024 as the "Journalist of the Year," the in-custody deaths at Santa Rita Jail, and the federal oversight over the Oakland Police Department. She also covers breaking news, civil rights cases, immigration and education issues and actually loves doing a light feature.
Lisa truly believes that journalism can effect change, by letting the public know more about the world that they live in.
Lisa spent most of her career as a print reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, covering cops, city hall and religion. She's also worked at the LA Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Reuters, NBC Bay Area, and the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester, New York, where she is from.
She met her husband in 1995 when they were both young reporters at her first real journalism job: Bay City News in San Francisco.
Lisa loves to teach journalism and she has been an adjunct professor at San Jose State University. She has her master's degree in journalism from Medill at Northwestern University.
In her free time, Lisa volunteers with the Society of Professional Journalists at San Quentin Prison helping incarcerated men hone their writing and reporting skills, and she coaches high school seniors write their college essays.
She is also an exercise instructor, teaching spin, yoga, aqua and body sculpting classes.
Lisa lives in Oakland, Calif., with her husband. She has two adult children.
Have a story tip or idea for Lisa? Contact Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or (510) 874-0139.
The latest from Lisa Fernandez
Santa Rita jail death: Man didn't show up for breakfast
A 37-year-old man died at Santa Rita Jail after he didn't show up for breakfast and was found lying in his bunk unresponsive a day after being put into custody there, according to the Alameda County Sheriff.
Dead gray whale along San Leandro shoreline
A dead gray whale has washed up along the San Leandro shoreline near the Bay Trail south of Marina Park.
Video: Sea lion leaps into canoe during Monterey Bay race
An enthusiastic sea lion leaped out of the Monterey Bay over Memorial Day weekend, hopping onto a racing outrigger canoe, before slipping back into the saltwater and becoming an instant viral sensation.
Oakland police in compliance with all 51 reforms: federal monitor
For the first time in more than two decades, a federal monitor declared that the Oakland Police Department has achieved compliance with all 51 reforms that it was ordered to complete following what's now infamously known as the Riders scandal.
Photos show San Leandro police chief's Jeep, Chevrolet in alleged hit-and-run
The CHP determined that the chief was at fault for clipping another car's side mirror, but not guilty of a crime.
Oakland city administrator resigns over 'degrading, unprofessional' texts
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee announced Monday that a city administrator resigned over "degrading and unprofessional communications" that surfaced in documents obtained through a Public Records Request.
Feds file charge after EZ's Lounge mass shooting
Federal prosecutors have charged a 40-year-old man following a mass shooting at EZ Lounge in Oakland, where two people, including an innocent teacher, were killed, and five others were injured.
Alameda County pays $36M following murder of Dublin couple by deputy
The Alameda County board of supervisors will pay $36 million to surviving family members of a murdered couple in Dublin, the county counsel announced Tuesday night, after a suit alleged the deaths were preventable because the former sheriff's deputy who killed them failed a psychological test but was hired anyway.
Longest serving Santa Rita Jail inmate no longer there
The man who served the longest time in Santa Rita Jail is no longer there.
DA, defense battle over the longest serving person at Santa Rita Jail
A judge will decide Leonard Jones' fate whether he should remain in prison or get a lighter sentence.