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 effort to support alumni relations, and that means there’s a small group of us starting to organize events with the school’s modest financial backing. We’d love for you to join us if you too want to help weave a much stronger alum web, one that grows and nurtures a community based upon our shared J-School experience. In addition, the alumni committee has created a newsletter that will feature upcoming events, alum profiles, and much more.

So let’s get together and change the status quo. We hope you will attend an upcoming event, enjoy our emails and share your story in Class Notes. And please forward this newsletter to your own class network, so we can reach all former J-Schoolers. Speak up and speak out, we’d love to hear from you.

Edward Wong

Veteran New York Times international correspondent Edward Wong (’98) is coming to Cal on October 17 to discuss his latest book, “At the Edge of Empire.” Fellow J-200 classmate Bonnie Eslinger talks to Wong about his North Gate memories, off-work joys, and plans for the future. Plus, he’s got some advice for journalists just starting out. Read the Q&A.

Connect. Network. Celebrate.

Catch up with old friends and meet some new ones at the J-School alumni reception on October 18. Held in the lovely North Gate courtyard, you can swap newsroom war stories, trade contact info, and just generally get inspired while enjoying free drinks and snacks — and what journalist doesn’t love that?

RSVP here.

And Don’t Miss Out on These

AI is for journalists. Hacks/Hackers is the premiere organization for journalists and technologists, and the three-day AI Hackathon they’ll be holding on campus starting October 25 couldn’t be more relevant. The event will bring together journalists, developers and documentary filmmakers, and focus on using AI to boost local media engagement and reinforce public trust. Registration is limited, so you’ll want to move fast. Apply now.

Hear from the former top editors at two of America’s foremost media companies when the Washington Post’s one-time executive editor Marty Baron sits down with Dean Baquet of The New York Times to talk about the 2024 election on November 13. This media post-mortem will break down the political coverage of what is shaping up to be a very tight race and discuss what’s to come. Register here.

Are you an alumni of the narrative writing or feature writing programs? Then mark your calendar for the Narrative Reunion on March 15, 2025, in Berkeley. More details forthcoming in upcoming newsletters but it’s bound to be great, so start making plans now to attend.

What’s New with You?

There are thousands of Berkeley Journalism alumni across the U.S. and the world. We’d like to hear from or about every one of you, to start building a community we can all be part of. So please take a few minutes and tell us about you: Where are you, what have you been up to since J-School, what’s your favorite memory of Cal, what other alums are you in touch with, etc. Be sure to include your class year. We’ll share your story with other alumni in “Class Notes” in future newsletters. Submit your updates here.

Class Notes October 2024:

Burnett Tregoning BA Journalism ’54
At age 91, Burnett is still hacking away at the news as the managing editor of The Mill Wheel, the not so famous newsletter of the Rotary Club of Mill Valley. He notes that “this stimulating assignment caps a rewarding and enjoyable career in trade magazines and a stint as owner-editor-janitor of Pacific Publishing Services.”

Honorable Ron Robie BA Journalism ’58 MJ ’60
After leaving Berkeley, Ron worked for the Legislative and Executive branches of State Government, including 8 years as Director of Water Resources. In 1983 he began his current career as a judge. He is now a member of the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento.

Sheila Himmel BA Journalism ’72
Sheila is part of the writing team for Dr. David Kessler’s latest book, where he’s taking on Big Food, much like he did with Big Tobacco in the late ’90s. The book explores the profitability and health impacts of ultra-processed foods.

Vera Chan MJ ’92
Vera recently joined the start-up narrative architecture agency Steelwork as director of news and media, after nearly 20 years of working at the intersection of tech and journalism at Yahoo and Microsoft. She continues to work on building media resilience in the tech-dominated landscape.

Roxanne Makasdjian MJ ’92
Roxanne produced the documentary “Charles Garry: Streetfighter in the Courtroom” (originally a J-School thesis). She also worked as a producer for ABC Network News for 20 years, covering numerous major stories, in addition to working as Director of Broadcast Communications for UC Berkeley for 17 years. She is currently the Executive Director of The Genocide Education Project which she founded in 2004.

Monica Mehta MJ ’06
Monica runs her content marketing business from her home in Oakland, just a short distance from campus. In a full-circle moment, her daughter Anokhi—who was born during her second year at J-School and whom she carried down the aisle at graduation—just started her first year at Columbia University!

Monica Mehta ’06 with her daughter Anokhi at graduation.

Matt Beagle MJ ’17
Matt works as a Senior Producer at Wondery, producing a range of history, comedy, business and sports podcasts, including The Big Flop and The Lead, both nominated for Ambie awards in 2024. He’s launching a new podcast on the history of beloved and iconic products later this month!

This email newsletter is sent to UC Berkeley Journalism alumni. For information on alumni programming at UC Berkeley Journalism, including events, volunteer opportunities and/or questions, please email Lia Swindle, Alumni Engagement, at lia.swindle@berkeley.edu.