Though the craft of journalism is platform-independent, knowing how to take advantage of the unique qualities of each platform can add resonance and power to your story. You’ll choose your platforms, working with our instructors to develop advanced skills in audio journalism, documentary, multimedia, narrative writing and photojournalism.
Audio Journalism
Berkeley Journalism’s audio program was founded in 1983, during a digital media transformation that drew journalists to rediscover the power of the oldest news medium, the spoken word. 40 years later, the program got its first full-time tenure-track faculty lead, Shereen Marisol Meraji, a veteran audio producer and journalist who has been telling stories with sound for more than two decades. She helped create and hosted NPR’s groundbreaking and critically acclaimed podcast covering race and identity, Code Switch. Shereen has brought her innovative spirit, expertise and connections in public media, podcasting and live storytelling to the J-school and has infused the program with renewed energy and enthusiasm in collaboration with Associate Adjunct Professor, Queena Kim.
The audio program specializes in the production of sound-rich, narrative storytelling and benefits greatly from being in the middle of a metro area with high-reach stations that boast diverse radio and podcast programming. (KQED, KALW, KPFA, KALX) Some of the world’s best audio journalists call the Bay Area home and we’ve been able to recruit them to work with our students as teachers and editors. Journalists like Tobin Low from “This American Life”, Anayansi Diaz-Cortes from “Reveal”, Monica Campbell from Post Reports, Anna Sussman ('05) and John Fecile from “Snap Judgement” - and that’s the short list!
Most importantly, because there’s an embarrassment of radio riches, here in the Bay, our students' work isn’t stuck in the classroom where no one can hear it. Their audio stories have been published and broadcast locally and nationally. No journalism graduate program in the country offers these robust publishing opportunities alongside sustained training in audio storytelling and production.
Career Paths
Reporter, producer, podcast host or radio anchor, editor.
Courses and instructors vary semester to semester.
Course Sequence
P = Production M = Methods S = Seminar
3 units
Journalism 275
Introduction to Audio (1st semester)
3 units
Audio on Assignment (2nd semester)
3 units
Journalism 212
Advanced Audio (3rd semester)
3 units
Journalism 298
Audio Capstone (3rd and 4th semesters)
1 unit
Journalism 294
Master’s Project Seminar/P (3rd and 4th semesters)
Documentary
Concentration Overview
The Berkeley documentary program is grounded in the values of professional journalism—accuracy, clarity, aggressive research and reporting, and ethical practices—to which we add rigorous training in the fundamentals of good filmmaking. Documentary courses are chiefly practical rather than theoretical and are built around teaching the skills and the sensibility required to make compelling documentaries suitable for national distribution.
The documentary program at Berkeley Journalism is widely considered one of the most important graduate nonfiction film programs. Our two-year documentary program is housed within the only journalism school in the University of California system. Our students are courageous storytellers rigorously trained in reporting and writing and the art of filmmaking, so they're ready to tackle the most significant issues of our time. Years of hard work by students, faculty, and staff have catapulted the program to national prominence. Our graduate students have won 12 student Academy Awards, 2 BAFTA Student Awards, 2 IDA Student Awards, 1 Directors Guild of America Student Film Award, and countless nominations. Our alumni not only make exceptional films and produce groundbreaking investigative work; they also become thought leaders in the field.
All students wishing to pursue documentary production are required to take the Video Reporting and Storytelling course sequence and History of Documentary during their first year. In the second year, students take Documentary Production combined with their Master's Project Seminar in a year-long intensive seminar in which they produce a professional half-hour documentary.
Career Paths
Filmmaker, producer, director, editor, funder, curator, executive producer, instructor, cinematographer, camera person.
Courses and instructors vary semester to semester.
Course Sequence
P = Production M = Methods S = Seminar
3 units
Journalism 282
Introduction to Visual Journalism/P (first semester)
5 units
Journalism 283
Video Reporting and Storytelling/P (second semester)
3 units
Journalism 286
History of Documentary/S (second semester)
1 unit
Journalism 219
Video Lab/M (third semester)
1 unit
Journalism 219
Advanced Video Editing Lab/M (third semester)
1 unit
Journalism 294
Master’s Project Seminar/P (third and fourth semesters)
4 units
Journalism 284
Documentary Production/P (third and fourth semesters)
Additional Courses [S1]
1 unit
Journalism 219
MINI: Associate Producer/M (second or fourth semester)
3 units
Journalism 260
Investigative Reporting/S (second, third or fourth semester)
Masters Project
Projects are single half-hour films, conceived, written, directed, shot, and edited by students, using our HD video equipment and facilities. They must be at once bold, original, and aimed at a wide general audience. While some documentaries involve extensive travel, use of archive material, and complex production, others are produced with simple clarity close to home. We have few restrictions on style, subject, or genre, but all projects must be resolutely documentary in nature, journalistically sound, and suitable for broadcast to a large nationwide primetime audience on commercial, public, or cable television, or via digital distribution.
Multimedia
Concentration Overview
The Multimedia track focuses on stories designed exclusively for the web, mobile, or similar digital platforms.
In this sequence, students learn to create short web video animations that capture the imagination, craft data-driven stories that inform and engage, design interactive graphics that pull readers into a narrative, compile online photo essays that tell stories beyond words, and produce audio accompaniments that enhance visual journalism pieces. Our program stands out because we don't just create these elements in isolation; we masterfully combine them into compelling online multimedia packages. Each piece, while optimized for both web and mobile, focuses on the harmonious relationship of online technical tools and storytelling that is both profound and accessible.
For those inspired to explore the possibilities of Multimedia, students should take J215: Introduction to Multimedia Storytelling, which is their first foray into digital storytelling. In semester two, students should take J222: Interactive Narratives, a production course that teaches students how to create multifaceted and ambitious multimedia packages. In their third and fourth semesters, students should take J216: Multimedia Workshop where they will learn to ideate, report, and produce their digital masterpieces.
Career Paths
Multimedia reporter, web producer, web developer, online editor, data journalist, multimedia editor/producer, content strategist, social media editor.
Courses and instructors vary semester to semester.
Course Sequence
P = Production M = Methods S = Seminar
3 units
Journalism 282
Introduction to Visual Journalism/P (first semester) (This class should be taken only if you plan to do a masters project with a video component.)
2 units
Journalism 222
Interactive Narratives (required/S (second semester)
3 units
Journalism 216
Multimedia Master’s Project Workshop/P (third and fourth semesters)
1 unit
Journalism 294
Master’s Project Seminar/P (third and fourth semesters)
AND, required to take at least one or more of the following courses for second semester:
3 units
Journalism 220
Introduction to Coding Interactives/M
3 units
Journalism 221
Data Visualization/M (third semester)
3 units
Journalism 283
Video Reporting and Storytelling/P (second semester)
Additional Courses [S1]
Additional classes to take in second, third and fourth semesters:
3 units
Journalism 298
Data Journalism/M
2 units
Journalism 219
MINI: Animating the News/M (second semester)
3 units
Journalism 298
Advanced Coding Interactives/M (third semester)
Masters Project
A qualifying Multimedia master’s project can be:
● A multimedia story that has multiple segments or elements with an intuitive navigation scheme and compelling overall design;
● a continuously published news site or blog featuring original and curated content,
● or a prototype for a new concept or innovative idea related to digital journalism, performed as a research project and submitted as a research paper with appropriate source citations.
Instructor
Jeremy Rue
Narrative Writing
Concentration Overview
The use of scenes and characters, sustained suspense, and voice are some of the features of narrative writing, whether for magazines, newspapers, online outlets, mixed media projects, or multimedia packages. Reporting for narrative is a craft unto itself, requiring detailed observation, rich description, in-depth interviewing, and critical thinking--skills all of our writing courses aim to nurture. Narrative writing holds a unique power to engage and illuminate readers through the creation of stories of broad interest and lasting significance.
Combining lecture courses, seminars, workshop critiques and individual mentoring, the School’s Narrative program provides an intense, hands-on approach to developing and refining student work. Students in the program take one to two introductory narrative courses, one to two advanced narrative courses, and a required course in the second year, devoted either to professionalization or to honing long-form skills. Students in the program choose whether to focus on feature and enterprise writing, stories driven by investigative reporting, or long-form writing. In addition to core writing courses, the school offers a changing array of additional topical and specialized courses, such as political reporting, opinion writing, conflict reporting, international reporting, arts and culture writing, and personal essay writing.
Career Paths
Staff writer, contributing editor, contributing writer, freelance writer, newspaper beat reporter or reporter.
Courses and instructors vary semester to semester.
Course Sequence
P = Production M = Methods S = Seminar
3 units
Journalism 298
How to be an Editor/P (second semester)
3 units
Journalism 242
Long-form Storytelling: Profiles/P (second or fourth semester)
3 units
Journalism 294
Master’s Project Seminar/P (third and fourth semesters)
3 units
Journalism 298
Narrative Capstone/P (third and fourth semesters)
3 units
Journalism 262
Narrative Fundamentals
3 units
Journalism 243: Advanced Long-form Writing
3 units
Journalism 226
Science Reporting
Core Topic & Special Courses (Rotating Offerings)
3 units
Journalism 201
Community Sites/P (second or fourth semester)
3 units
Journalism 298
Editing/M (second or fourth semester)
3 units
Journalism 298
Nonfiction Book/P (every other Spring semester)
3 units
Journalism 242
Long-form Storytelling: Profiles/P (second or fourth semester)
Masters Project
The project requires one piece or series of pieces totaling, 3,500 to 5,000 words in length, it should be publishable quality, and based on extensive reporting and interviews.
Instructors
Elena Conis, Lisa Armstrong, Christine Schiavo, Mark Danner, Adam Hochschild, Jenn Kahn, Mark Schapiro
Photojournalism
Concentration Overview
Growing demand for visual storytelling skills has strengthened interest in photojournalism in the news industry and encouraged the School to train photojournalists for all media. Each semester, photography courses are offered to give students practical experience shooting and composing photo essays. In the advanced documentary photography courses, students work on an in-depth visual storytelling project and focus on developing a personal style. Students also edit, design and publish the Center for Photography's annual student magazine, “realeyes.”
Career Paths
Photojournalist, photo editor, photojournalists, photo editor, photographer.
Courses and instructors vary semester to semester.
Course Sequence
P = Production M = Methods S = Seminar
2 units
Journalism 210
News Photography/P (second semester)
3 units
Journalism 213
Advanced Documentary Photo: Real Eyes/P (second or fourth semester)
2 units
Journalism 210
Photo Essay/P (third semesters)
3 unit
Journalism 213
Advanced Documentary Photo: Blurb Book/P (third semester)
1 unit
Journalism 294
Master’s Project Seminar/P (third and fourth semester)
Additional Courses
1 unit
Journalism 219
MINI: Associate Producer/M (second or fourth semester)
3 units
Journalism 260
Investigative Reporting/S (second, third, or fourth semester)
Masters Project
The project requires the initial production of 30 to 45 original documentary images of formal exhibition quality. The final production should include a bound book of 25-30 digital prints either with a cover image, title page, and photographs sequenced with explanatory or essay text. As well production and hanging of work in the school Reva & David Logan Gallery of Documentary Photography.
Instructor
Ken Light