Natalia Costa

Barcelona · Journalist since 2002

Stories from Spain, reported for international readers.

I'm Natalia Costa, a Barcelona-based journalist with two decades in Spanish national media — from wire and international reporting at Europa Press to features for Diari ARA, La Vanguardia, La Razón, 20 Minutos and The New Barcelona Post. Discovery-driven and versatile: equally at home breaking a news brief and building a deep, well-sourced report. I pitch and file in English, and report in five languages.

Pitch me a brief Selected work EN · ES · CA · FR · IT

Bylines & newsrooms

01 — Profile

Twenty years of bylines, one home base: Barcelona

I trained in the wire room and grew into features. Discovery-driven, deep when the story deserves it, and versatile across formats — that combination is what I bring to every commission.

For twelve years I reported for Europa Press — Spain's first private news agency — covering national and international news, including special-correspondent assignments in Morocco, Senegal, France and Italy. At the Agència Catalana de Notícies I worked as a full multimedia reporter (ENG), writing while shooting my own video and photography in the field.

Today I specialise in the stories people actually live with. For Diari ARA's Estils I write about conscious, healthy living: nutrition, wellbeing and gastronomy. For La Razón's Lifestyle supplement I approach gastronomy and wine from the luxury angle. I cover urban life, architecture and heritage for 20 Minutos and The New Barcelona Post, food and consumer stories for Directo al Paladar, interiors for Decoesfera, family and education for ARA's Criatures, and travel for La Vanguardia's Viajar supplement.

I also teach the craft — associate lecturer in journalism at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) — and work in institutional and corporate communication: press kits, press releases and media relations for organisations and brands.

For international outlets, I offer something simple: a reporter on the ground in Spain with a nose for stories nobody has told yet, who understands your readers, files clean copy in English, and can shoot her own video and photography when the story needs it.

Based in
Barcelona, Spain
Reporting since
2002
Languages
Spanish & Catalan (native), English (C2), French (C1), Italian (C1)
Style
Discovery-oriented · Deep, well-sourced reporting · Versatile across beats and formats
Formats
Features · Interviews · Reported essays · Service journalism · News
Multimedia
ENG video reporting (own camera work) · Professional photography · Audio & podcast production
Also
Institutional & corporate communication · Press kits · Press releases · Media relations
02 — Beats

What I cover

Directo al Paladar · Diari ARA Estils

Food, nutrition & conscious living

Healthy, mindful lifestyles: nutrition, wellbeing and everyday gastronomy — expert-sourced features and consumer reporting from Spain's food culture.

La Razón · Lifestyle & Gastronomía

Gastronomy & wine, the luxury angle

Fine dining, wine, spirits and the high end of Spain's food scene — trend features and profiles written for readers who appreciate the finer things.

La Vanguardia · Viajar & Què Fem

Travel

Destination features and city guides with a reporter's eye — Catalonia, Spain and far beyond, built on interviews rather than press releases.

20 Minutos · The New Barcelona Post

Urban, architecture & heritage

How Barcelona is built and rebuilt: landmarks, museums, transformations and the hidden history of the city — discovery-oriented pieces on places readers think they already know.

Diari ARA · Criatures / Decoesfera

Family, education & the home

Parenting, childhood and education combining expert interviews with real families' stories, plus interiors and how we live at home. Informed by my postgraduate training in education.

Europa Press · ACN · El Mundo · Público

News & multimedia

Trained at Spain's first private news agency, with national and international coverage — special-correspondent assignments in Morocco, Senegal, France and Italy — plus ENG multimedia experience shooting my own video and photography. Available for fixing and breaking-news support.

03 — Selected work

One reporter, many formats

Directo al Paladar · 2026

Asturias and the Basque Country take on the Nordics over cider labelling rules

Reported consumer and food-industry story with producer voices. In Spanish, under the pen name Joana Costa.

Read →

20 Minutos · Barcelona · 2026

Inside the future Carmen Thyssen museum: ceramic curves that change colour with the sun

Architecture and museums reporting on one of Barcelona's most anticipated cultural projects. In Spanish.

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20 Minutos · Barcelona · 2026

The 20th-century Barcelona landmark being compared to Paris's Musée d'Orsay

Discovery-driven urban heritage piece on the Estació de França, a jewel of Spanish railway architecture. In Spanish.

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20 Minutos · Barcelona · 2026

The Barcelona Gaudí imagined — and that never existed

Urban history feature on the architect's unbuilt visions for the city. In Spanish.

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Diari ARA · Estils · 2025

What is 'plogging'? The sport cleaning up streets, beaches and forests

Conscious-living feature on the fitness trend that combines running with litter picking. In Catalan and Spanish.

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Diari ARA · Comer · 2023

How restaurants are coping with inflation

Reported gastronomy feature with restaurateur interviews on rising costs across Spain's dining sector. In Catalan and Spanish.

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Diari ARA · Criatures · 2022

Can children follow a vegetarian diet?

Expert-sourced nutrition and parenting feature for ARA's family supplement. In Catalan and Spanish.

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Diari ARA · Estils

Plogging, the sport that cleans streets, beaches and forests

Conscious-living feature on the fitness trend that combines running with litter picking. In Catalan.

Read →

Diari ARA · Estils

The perfect plan to bid farewell to August: the best season for birdwatching

Nature and slow-living lifestyle feature with expert sourcing. In Catalan.

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Hule y Mantel

Garrofetes del Papa Luna: the Tortosa sweet everyone thinks comes from Peñíscola

Food heritage and tradition feature for the Spanish gastronomy magazine. In Spanish.

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La Razón · Lifestyle

Chairs with a story: design icons and the history behind them

Design and interiors trend feature. In Spanish.

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La Razón · Gastronomía

The drinks you'll be sipping this season

Trend-spotting drinks feature with industry voices, from the luxury side of Spain's gastronomy. In Spanish.

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La Razón · Gastronomía

Juice season: why summer is its golden hour

Seasonal food-and-drink feature. In Spanish.

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La Razón · Lifestyle

Spain, gallery by gallery: a tour of the country's art scene

Art and culture feature mapping Spain's gallery landscape. In Spanish.

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La Vanguardia · Viajar · 2019

Five irresistible cities for chocolate lovers

International travel-and-food feature. In Spanish.

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La Vanguardia · Viajar · 2019

A street-art route: Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Los Angeles, Melbourne and Cape Town

Global urban-culture travel feature across five continents. In Spanish.

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La Vanguardia · Viajar · 2018

Tennessee, a pilgrimage to America's musical mecca

Destination feature for La Vanguardia's travel supplement. In Spanish.

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El Periódico · Culture · 2018

The Fez Festival opens with a mapping show spanning 20 countries

Cultural coverage reported from Morocco. In Spanish.

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Europa Press · Culture · 2014

Cirque du Soleil unveils an ecological message at its world premiere in Andorra

Wire coverage of an international cultural world premiere for Spain's first private news agency. In Spanish.

Read →

Europa Press · Education · 2010

Catalan and African universities join forces on academic management

Education and international cooperation news reporting. In Spanish.

Read →

Published work is in Spanish and Catalan. I pitch, interview and file directly in English for international commissions.

04 — For editors

What you get when you commission me

A reporter on the ground

Based in Barcelona with two decades of sources across Catalonia and Spain — food, design, travel, education, culture and daily news.

Clean copy in English

I pitch, interview and file in English (C2), and can also work in French and Italian. No translation layer, no lost nuance.

Words plus visuals

ENG-trained multimedia reporter: I shoot my own video and professional photography in the field, and produce audio. One commission, a complete package.

Agency-trained reliability

Twelve years at Europa Press — Spain's first private news agency, with national and international coverage — means deadlines are non-negotiable, quotes are accurate and facts are checked before filing.

Self-generated ideas

Most of my published work started as my own pitch. Expect story ideas tailored to your section, not recycled press releases.

Fixing & local support

Available to support foreign correspondents and visiting crews in Barcelona: sourcing, interviews, logistics, translation.

Corporate & institutional communication

Beyond editorial: press kits, press releases and media relations for organisations and brands that need a journalist's eye.

05 — Credentials

Teaching & training

Teaching

  • Associate Lecturer, UOC (Open University of Catalonia), 2021–present — Journalistic Writing Techniques, Specialised Journalism and Final Degree Projects; Online Master's in Journalism and Communication.

Education

  • Degree in Journalism — Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (Erasmus, Université Sorbonne, Paris)
  • Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Journalism — UOC / El Periódico
  • Degree in Geography and History — UNED
  • Master's in Teacher Training (Geography & History) — UNED
06 — Toolkit

Tech skills

AI & automation

AI applied to journalismChatGPTDALL·EZapier

CMS & publishing

WordPressElementorBricks BuilderHTML (working knowledge)MarfeelSEOInDesignCanva

Photo & image

Professional photographyPhotoshopGIMPStock & image libraries

Video & audio

ENG video reportingFinal CutAvidCapCutAudacityPodcast production

Audience, social & ads

Social media managementKPI & analyticsMetricoolHootsuiteMeta AdsGoogle AdsMailchimp

Communications

Institutional & corporate communicationPress kitsPress releasesMedia relations

Have a story from Spain in mind? Let's talk.

I reply to editor enquiries within one working day, with clips, rates and availability. Pitches, retainers and one-off commissions all welcome.

+34 695 384 025 · Barcelona (CET) · English · Spanish · Catalan · French · Italian