UC Berkeley Journalism - Program - Political Reporting

The goal of the Graduate School of Journalism is to produce professional print, broadcast, and new media journalists who move on to positions of leadership and influence. The two-year Master of Journalism (M.J.) program provides intensive training in journalism skills and teaches the traditions and principles of the field.

In Political Reporting: Courses Faculty Events

Political Reporting

J-School students covering the 2004 presidential campaign reported their stories from the union halls and evangelical churches of southern Ohio, the mosques of Detroit and the bustling sidewalks of Miami's Calle Ocho.

Our aim is to prepare the next generation of political reporters by deepening their knowledge of history, demography, economics and policymaking at all levels of government. In practical terms, that means we ask students to look at the big picture whether they're covering the Berkeley City Council or a presidential campaign. Because we collaborate closely with the Institute for Governmental Studies and Goldman School of Public Policy, we are able to open doors for students to some of the country's foremost political scholars, economists, working politicians, policymakers and journalists.

"It was a hot summer day in Sacramento, but the real heat was coming from a shouting match, pitting supporters and opponents of recalling Governor Davis against each other. And I was there to record the spectacle. In retrospect, the recall was one of the greatest stories I've ever covered. But the fact that I'm now Sacramento bureau chief for KQED is really what I call the 'J-School Six Degrees of Separation.' Almost all of my jobs in TV and radio over the last 10 years can be traced back to connections I have with Berkeley. There was always someone I knew, who knew someone who knew someone... who helped get my foot in the door. And standing on that sizzling summer street corner, I knew what had gotten me there."

John Myers, MJ 1995, Sacramento bureau chief, KQED's "California Report"

The program offers a range of opportunities to report, write and broadcast from Sacramento, Washington, D. C. and state and national campaign trails. We begin, though, in small classes where students can sit down with mayors, budget directors, campaign finance experts, pollsters and lobbyists to get an insider's view of how politics and government operate.

Background seminars that introduce students to the issues and players in state and local politics generally are offered in the fall semester, leading to election coverage in November. Advanced reporting courses dealing with national politics or specialized issues such as immigration, poverty, education and urban affairs generally are offered in the spring semester so that students can report from the field during both the winter and spring breaks.

Political reporting students have produced in-depth magazines on the working poor and the California economy and their stories have been published in such outlets as The Sacramento Bee, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and Santa Barbara News-Press, and broadcast on NPR. Students also write and broadcast for the school's California News Service, which provides political, economic and government reporting to news outlets across the state and the country.