April 10-11: Journalist hard at work despite COVID-19 pandemic

UC Berkeley journalism professors Geeta Anand, and David Barstow used their relationships as former reporters with the New York Times to launch the student partnership for COVID-19 coverage in California.

Berkeley Journalism and the ‘New York Times’ partner to cover COVID-19 crisis

April 10: UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism announced it has joined forces with the New York Times to provide critical reporting on COVID-19’s impact on California’s 58 counties, according to Berkley News.

About 80 students and 20 instructors from Berkley’s investigative reporting program are reporting in small teams to gather data, interviews, and photographs, for news stories that will be published in California Today, the Times’ daily California-focused newsletter.

“This is a chance to work with one of the best journalism schools in the country,’’ said Dean Baquet, executive editor of the New York Times. “The story of this virus is one of the biggest of our time, and having blanket coverage of its spread and effects is important to our readers in California and around the world.”

Berkeley students are excited and determined to have the ability to further their education through experience and help to keep their community informed.

Darran Simon, Washington Post journalist, dies at 43

April 10: The Washington Post reported on Friday that their own Darren Simon, who covered district politics and government, was found dead in his Washington home at the age of 43.

A spokeswoman for the D.C. medical examiner’s office said a determination of the cause of death is pending further tests.

Simon’s expertise in trauma reporting helped to benefit his reporting on the coronavirus pandemic.

Mike Semel, The Post’s top metro editor, spoke highly of Simon’s work ethic during his short time covering the coronavirus at the Washington Post.

“Despite his short tenure, we entrusted him to write the main coronavirus news story several times over the past couple of weeks — taking feeds from his colleagues and weaving those into a coherent story. He worked so well with everyone and was a graceful, fluid writer. But beyond that, he was just a nice guy with an electric smile.”

Simon had only worked at The Washington Post for about a week.

Better Together: Budding Elementary School Journalists Publish ‘Third Grade Lockdown News’

April 11: A dozen third graders from Glorietta Elementary in Orinda, California are circulating their own newspaper known as the “Third Grade Lockdown News” according to CBSN Bay Area.

The students began their bi-weekly newspaper after their Bay Area schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Twice a week over a conference call they pitch their ideas to each other. They have already covered topics from pollution, new recipes to try, and the toilet paper shortage.

The parents of these students help to design the layout and the principal emails their newspaper to the 350 members of the student body.

Many of the student reporters hope to continue their newspaper even after the quarantine is over.