Chris Ehrmann Named Brian Pollack Fellow in Documentary Filmmaking

A man with short, wavy, salt-and-pepper hair and a beard is smiling at the camera. He is wearing a maroon plaid shirt and standing in front of a blurred natural background with green foliage. This image of Chris Ehrmann captures his casual charm as he delves into the world of documentary filmmaking.

Chris Ehrmann (‘23) has been named the Brian Pollack Fellow in Documentary Filmmaking at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The $5,000 fellowship, established in 2018, is awarded annually by committee to a promising second-year documentary film student with a passion for tackling social justice issues and exploring the outdoors. The fellowship was established…

Read More

Alumni Portrait: Lisa Pickoff-White

Lisa Pickoff-White, an esteemed alumni, stands confidently in front of large windows, wearing a patterned dress with a collar. Her wavy hair and glasses add to her poised demeanor. With a slight smile, the bright light outside casts a warm ambiance in the room, highlighting the cityscape behind her portrait.

Our latest alumni profile features Lisa Pickoff-White, whose dedication and involvement with Berkeley Journalism continues more than a decade after she graduated. Her lasting imprint on the school is seen through the many initiatives at KQED that involve Berkeley Journalism students. She is a frequent guest speaker, sharing wisdom with students about her work and…

Read More

Berkeley Journalism mourns the death of Hale Zukas, friend and subject of Brad Bailey’s (’17) Student Academy Award-winning “Hale”

A man sits in a motorized wheelchair equipped with assistive technology, wearing a red jacket and glasses, engaged in conversation with Brad Bailey at a table in a library. Shelves filled with books line the background, reminiscent of Berkeley Journalism's rich history.

Berkeley-based disability rights pioneer Hale Zukas died on November 30th in Berkeley, California. He was 79 years old. Born with cerebral palsy, which significantly impaired his mobility and speech, doctors advised his parents to put him in an institution. Instead, they facilitated a full, productive life for him. His extraordinary life was celebrated in “Hale,”…

Read More

Daniel Márquez named assistant director of student services

Daniel Márquez, an assistant director, is smiling at the camera with his curly hair and mustache. He is wearing a gray plaid blazer over a white shirt, standing against a backdrop of green foliage.

Dear Berkeley Journalism Community, I am thrilled to announce that Daniel Márquez will be our new assistant director of student services, starting Dec. 12. In this critical role, Daniel will report to Blaine Jones, our senior director of student services. Among his duties will be academic advising, planning and implementing student events, including commencement; management…

Read More

Quarterly Newsletter From Dean Geeta Anand

Geeta Anand

Dear Berkeley Journalism Community, It’s such a beautiful thing to see the future being created every day at Berkeley Journalism. Getting to know the students, faculty and staff, seeing the work they showcase and publish, sitting in on classes and listening to extraordinary faculty inspire their students to do more and better: The future of…

Read More

Berkeley Journalism introduces second cohort of first-generation college student fellows

Four Dean's fellows sitting in the front of the School of Journalism happily embracing each other.

Berkeley Journalism introduces a new cohort of Dean’s Fellows, a leadership development initiative that fully funds first-generation college students by removing a barrier to entering the field. The initiative, which began in 2021 through private philanthropy, counters the widespread income and access disparity in newsrooms by providing guaranteed funding for tuition and fees for up…

Read More

Investigation by alums Meg Shutzer and Rachel Lauren Mueller runs on front page of The New York Times following film festival premiere

A newspaper is open to an article titled "Repeated Abuses at Detention Center With Powerful Allies" by Meg Shutzer in The New York Times. The article includes a black-and-white photograph showing a sign that reads "WARE YOUTH CENTER," partially obscured by plants in the foreground.

Two back-to-back suicides at a juvenile detention center in rural Louisiana raise troubling questions about the state’s justice system and exposes a legacy of abuse and neglect. The explosive findings by recent J-School graduates appear in a documentary short and on the front page of the country’s newspaper of record. On Oct. 30, Berkeley Journalism…

Read More