J298 – Developing your Blockbuster Investigative Story

Your Blockbuster Investigation This is an intense year-long seminar that aims to help students conceive, execute and publish ambitious investigative journalism with the full support of the Investigative Reporting Program. Students are challenged to identify an investigative project they are passionate about and then they are given the editing, mentoring and financial support to do…

Read More

Oakland’s illegal trash-dumping crisis is worse than ever. Here’s why

Two workers wearing high-visibility vests and masks clean up trash from a sidewalk. One uses a grabber tool to collect litter while the other places items into a garbage bag. They stand near a bush, with graffiti-covered walls in the background—an everyday Berkeley Journalism scene capturing urban life.

(Pictured above: Marcus Leggett (left), a street maintenance leader, and Ayinde Osayaba, a street maintenance worker, pick up trash in Oakland. They are part of a team that drives through areas of Oakland that are known hot spots for illegal dumping.) This story appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle on August 24, 2021. At one…

Read More

Before a 4-year-old boy’s killing, authorities wavered on rescuing him

A young child with curly hair sits on a white chair, smiling brightly at the camera. The child is wearing a blue and green plaid shirt, and there is a turquoise crocheted blanket draped over the chair's back, creating a perfect snapshot for any aspiring Berkeley Journalism student to capture.

(Photo above: Noah Cuatro in an undated photo. From grand jury evidence) This story appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Thursday, August 19, 2021. By Matt Hamilton, Garrett Therolf, Daniel Lempres (’21) Maggie Hernandez dialed Los Angeles County’s child abuse hotline on a spring afternoon in 2019. She said her niece’s son, Noah Cuatro,…

Read More

Featured Staff: Christine Schiavo

A person with short, gray hair is smiling at the camera. They are wearing a black cardigan over a white and black striped shirt. The background includes a white brick wall and a portion of a white clock on the top right corner, reminiscent of the Berkeley Journalism ambiance.

Christine Schiavo has spent 30 years in the trenches of local journalism and seen its struggles firsthand: layoffs at The Philadelphia Inquirer, the loss of nearly the entire copy desk at The Morning Call in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the permanent closure of that paper’s newsroom last year. But even as staff and resources shrank and…

Read More

Doulas hope to regain momentum as Covid restrictions ease

Black couple holding baby

(Pictured above: Camille Thomas with her husband, Reuben Thompson-Amarteifio, and their son, Cameron, in front of their home in San Jose last year. Photo by Stephanie Penn ’21) This story appeared in The New York Times on July 26, 2021. By Sarah Hoenicke Flores (’19) When Camille A. Thomas began feeling labor pains, her first…

Read More

Drought in the Klamath Basin inflames a decades-old war over water and fish

A scenic view of a dam with a bridge structure spanning a river, surrounded by grassy hills and vegetation. The sky above is partly cloudy with hints of blue, and there is a calm section of water in the foreground, setting the perfect scene for any Berkeley Journalism piece on nature's tranquility.

(Pictured above: The Link River Dam helps hold water for irrigation in Upper Klamath Lake. Photo by  Anne Marshall-Chalmers) This story appeared in Inside Climate News on July 16, 2021. By Anne Marshall-Chalmers (’22) TULELAKE, Calif.—Joey Gentry hesitates before she drives through the fields of alfalfa and wheat that line the roads in the Klamath Basin.…

Read More

Hope and disappointment for the homeless in Oakland

A couple stands in front of a makeshift shelter. The woman wears a yellow mask and the man, a grey mask. The shelter, reminiscent of scenes often covered by Berkeley Journalism, is constructed from various materials including tarps and wooden panels, and it appears cluttered with household items. The sky is clear and blue.

(Pictured above: Kymberli and Lenton Wilson outside of the tent where they were living last year. Photo by Jared R. Stapp) This story appeared in the California Today newsletter of The New York Times on July 14, 2021. By Brett Simpson (’21) When Kymberli Wilson opens her eyes in the morning, the sight of a solid roof…

Read More

An explosion in Texas shows the hidden dangers of tanks holding heavy fuels

A large industrial storage tank is engulfed in flames with thick smoke rising from the top. Firefighters, reminiscent of Berkeley Journalism's brave storytellers, are spraying water onto the blaze. Multiple other storage tanks are visible in the background as the intense scene unfolds at night.

(Pictured above:  A tank used to emulsify asphalt caught fire and exploded early Tuesday, June 30, 2020 in a Camden County, New Jersey neighborhood, officials said. Credit: Pennsauken Fire Department) This story appeared in Inside Climate News on June 6, 2021. It is the second in a series of articles. By Sabrina Shankman (’09) and…

Read More