(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) California Governor Gavin Newsom has dedicated $25 million in state funds to UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, in order to “support and strengthen local reporting in underserved and historically underrepresented areas across the state.”
According to The Post Millennial, Geeta Anand, dean of the program, explained why the money would be used in this particular way in a post on Twitter.
“We’ve got three reasons for taking this on,” she posted. “1: we all see the world through the prism of our own lived experiences. So, who our storytellers are matters. If we don’t have a diverse group of people becoming journalists, then we miss stories that matter.”
We’ve got three reasons for taking this on: 1: we all see the world through the prism of our own lived experiences. So, who our storytellers are matters. If we don’t have a diverse group of people becoming journalists, then we miss stories that matter. 3/
— Geeta Anand (@GOAnand) September 9, 2022
She goes on, touting the program’s scholarship programs and explaining that the influx of money will also forestall “corruption and disinformation.”
“Democracy is in trouble,” she wrote in a second tweet. “We need to put journalism to work to protect it.”
“That’s what this project aims to do by putting talented early career journalists into local news organizations around the state.
Anand concluded by saying that it is time for the government to invest in journalism as a “public good.”
“This may reset the debate about the role of the public sector in journalism,” Anand said. “Private philanthropy can only do so much, and billionaire owners aren’t a solution.”
“How states and communities can support journalism as a public good needs to be at the center of our thinking,” she concluded.
The spending raised eyebrows for several reasons—particularly the allocation of such a large sum of money when Californians are suffering under inflation.
Gavin, California and Berkeley collaborating on journalism with our tax dollars, how Pravdaesque. https://t.co/PFchlqwbcq
— OK Kyle🌴 (@KyleCalifornia_) September 10, 2022
Many also thought that government-funded journalism could lead to some problems.
State-sponsored journalism. Semi fascist-y https://t.co/BOBarfPCDe
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) September 10, 2022
 California Governor Gavin Newsom has dedicated $25 million in state funds to UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, in order to "support and strengthen local reporting in underserved and historically underrepresented areas across the state."){kind=link}