Berkeley Journalism Quarterly Newsletter

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  Fall 2024 Dear Berkeley Journalism Community, In mid-September, I stepped in as acting dean at UC Berkeley Journalism when Dean Geeta Anand took leave for the semester. While I have worked at the J-School for eight years as a professor, it’s an honor to serve in this new capacity, alongside our extraordinary faculty, staff…

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Longtime Berkeley Journalism Audio Instructor Ben Manilla Dies

A man wearing a blue and white striped button down shirt gestures with his hands while teaching wearing glasses. Two students appear blurred in the background.

Ben Manilla, a Peabody Award-winning producer, beloved broadcast journalism educator and mainstay of our audio program from 2004–2019, has died. Manilla died on Monday, September 30, following a long illness. He was 71. Many of his former students took to social media to share their sadness about the profound loss and their appreciation for him…

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Premiere issue of alumni newsletter: North Gate Update

Welcome — and Come Join Us! Hello and Go Bears! Over the years, many of us have said that once we graduate from the J-School, while we may retain the deep friendships we’ve cultivated with our classmates, the tether to the school itself is severed. But no longer! The school is investing in a new…

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Update on UC Berkeley Journalism Dean

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Dear Berkeley Journalism community, Our UC Berkeley Journalism Dean Geeta Anand told faculty, staff and students last week that she would immediately take leave for the remainder of the semester. Please find below a message from UC Berkeley’s Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Ben Hermalin, who today announced Geeta’s leave and my appointment as acting…

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Alums and faculty named finalists for Gerald Loeb Awards for business reporting

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Five UC Berkeley Journalism alumni and one of our multimedia lecturers are among the finalists for the 2024 Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. Sarah Cahlan (’19) and multimedia Lecturer John Harden were part of The Washington Post team named as finalists in the Feature Category for “American Icon,” a series of…

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Alums and faculty honored in the National Association of Black Journalists Salute to Excellence Awards

Clear trophy with "NABJ" logo, "2024 Salute to Excellence Winners" text in front of a dotted background.

The National Association of Black Journalists celebrated Berkeley Journalism Professor Lisa Armstrong and alums Corey Antonio Rose (’23) and Jason Samuels (’95) at the organization’s 2024 convention in Chicago. The Salute to Excellence Awards — the only journalism competition in the United States to honor exemplary coverage of the African diaspora and Black issues exclusively…

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Berkeley Journalism Alumni Nominated for Emmy Awards in News and Doc

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Ten Berkeley Journalism alumni are among the “exceptional journalists and documentarians” named nominees in the News & Documentary Emmy Awards. Violet Du Feng (’04) is nominated for Best Documentary for Independent Lens’ Hidden Letters (PBS), which reveals how modern women in China are working to maintain the tradition of Nüshu, a secret calligraphy language used…

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Four alums honored in 2023 Sigma Delta Chi Awards

Sigma Delta Chi Awards 2023 logo on red background.

Four prolific Berkeley Journalism alums were honored with Sigma Delta Chi Awards for the most outstanding work published or broadcast in 2023. Their coverage explored everything from the paucity of mental health care to court challenges regarding social media content moderators in Africa to the stunning number of skydiving accidents at one Northern California company.…

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