photo by Ximena Natera
UC Berkeley Journalism announced today the selection of journalist Monica Campbell as the new permanent director of its state-funded California Local News Fellowship — the largest publicly funded journalism initiative in the country — following a national search.
Campbell has more than two decades of experience as a reporter and editor, covering local, national and international news. In February, she was hired to coordinate the fellowship program’s 70 newsrooms. In June, she became interim director of the program. Prior to joining the fellowship’s team, she was an editor of The Washington Post’s audio team and, from 2012 to 2022, she was based in California and Mexico City as a senior editor and reporter for the award-winning “The World,” public radio’s longest-running daily global news program. She was awarded Harvard University’s prestigious Nieman Fellowship in 2010.
Christa Scharfenberg launched the fellowship in 2022 and led the program through its success and expansion — including the California legislature’s recent decision to allocate another $15 million to extend the program for two more years, through 2028. She stepped down from her post this summer, but will continue to serve as an advisor through the end of 2025.
UC Berkeley Dean Michael D. Bolden said Campbell’s commitment to local news and California make her the right journalist to lead the program into the future.
“Thanks to the partnership between political and media leaders in our state, we are focused on solutions,” Bolden said. “We have an opportunity at UC Berkeley Journalism to help fill information gaps while showing the rest of the country how collaborations can make a difference.”
Campbell, who grew up in San Jose, California, and is a longtime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, says she has been drawn to this program since its inception. She says she’s gratified to work with a dedicated team, newsrooms throughout the state providing critical information to their communities, and a growing network of early-career journalists committed to local news.
“The fellowship program has already proven to be a pioneering model,” Campbell said. “We see other states taking notice. Every state should fund fellowships like ours to ensure communities are getting the information they need.”
The California Local News Fellowship has now supported two cohorts of full-time reporters (with full-time pay and benefits) working in counties that represent more than 92 percent of the state’s population, reporting more than 100 stories each week. A third cohort will begin this fall as the inaugural group cycles off. The renewed state funding also will support the launch of an editing fellowship and leadership and sustainability support for newsrooms throughout the state, through the Propel Initiative led by the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education.
Campbell emphasized the importance of local news to the cohesion of communities, especially at a time of national division, misinformation and disinformation.
“Local news connects us with our neighbors. It informs us of the decisions that politicians are making that most impact our lives: from housing and education to immigration enforcement,” said Campbell. “If we’re unaware of what’s going on in our communities, we are operating in the dark. Trusted, reliable information allows people to make informed decisions.”
She added that UC Berkeley is the perfect place to house and cultivate this fellowship program as “one of the best journalism schools in the country” and “an incredible learning lab for future and current journalists.”
Campbell said that one of the throughlines of her career has been identifying and supporting journalists, who, like her, may not have seen themselves reflected in newsrooms — and who are often most dedicated to covering communities that are underrepresented by mainstream media.
“That’s the spirit I see in a lot of our fellows,” Campbell said. “And I feel very kindred to that spirit.”
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