Representing a prime catch for UC Berkeley, journalist Michael Bolden assumed his position as the School of Journalism’s eighth permanent dean on Aug. 1. He brings to the Bay Area multifaceted experience and a particular devotion to community-connected, collaborative journalism.
Departing his most recent post as CEO and executive director of the American Press Institute (API), Bolden’s distinguished career as a reporter and national editor includes years working at New Orleans Times-Picayune, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle and others. During the pandemic, he co-developed the John S. Knight Fellowship program at Stanford University. The program built and implemented an innovative framework for remote reporting, allowing fellows from across the country to remain in and best serve their local communities.
Bolden grew up in Mobile, Alabama. His father was a Baptist minister whose formal education ended at sixth grade; his mother had a background in corporate security and a family history that included educators. While he read World Book Encyclopedias for entertainment, she completed crossword puzzles in pen. Local newspapers and national magazines such as Ebony and Jet stacked the reading tables, and news television and radio broadcasts were the home’s constant soundtrack, Bolden recalls in an interview in mid-July.
Asked to reflect on other childhood experiences that influence the journalist, industry leader and Black man he has become, Bolden says, “What comes to mind was that my dad was a social influencer before social media. I’m thinking of the way he moved in the world and going with him to the barbershop on Saturday mornings. Talking to his friends, hearing about what was going on in the community and politics, that emphasized for me the importance of being out in and learning from the community.”
From those hours in the barbershop, Bolden discovered there are layers in every person’s life. Listening to wisdom delivered, witnessing joyful congregation and recognizing the diversity of people’s stories cranked up his innate curiosity, spawning his earliest, investigative desire to know more. “It was also about learning the trials and tribulations my parents faced. What it was like growing up in the Jim Crow South and how you had to swallow your pride in order to get along. But you were resilient, still able to function and emerge in the world as a man,” he notes.
The barbershop was located in an area known as Africa Town. As an adult, Bolden became aware Africa Town was where enslaved Africans transported on the last slave ship, the Clotilda, had settled. “We didn’t live in Africa Town, but Dad made a point of going to that barbershop,” he explains. “I didn’t realize it then, but there was an undertow to what I was seeing in this place.”
Upon arriving on campus, Bolden says important facets of his approach will include not insulating himself within the journalism department and practicing deep listening in communities on and beyond the campus. Within the department, the priority will be establishing structures and an environment that supports thinking, questioning and constantly refining and improving ideas and processes.
“There’s a need for cross-collaborations across divisions, and this includes people outside of the educational system,” says Bolden. “What can we learn from the rich history of Berkeley? It’s been a bastion of free speech, protest, assembly, and of course, the free press—all the fundamental essentials of democracy.”
Along with those core elements, Bolden insists achieving immediate results that last means not imposing his will. “Collaboration is deep listening to the needs and ideas of other people, and then, finding a way to execute them,” he points out. The voice of the “smartest person in the room,” according to Bolden, is actually a collective. People and communities historically left out of mainstream media must be sought, heard, and their needs and interests understood and effectively, meticulously portrayed.
One of the greatest risks in journalism is succumbing to systemic weaknesses that result in a lack of public trust in the media. “That’s assuming we know what’s best, all the time,” says Bolden. “We decide to do a story on X. We do, but we might totally miss the boat on the real story behind the issue, the things that are most significant. Journalism for a long time has looked around and thought, we need to write about this, this and this. We’ve done that for decades.”
Instead, Bolden says the best formula for strong journalism comes from entering the community to ask questions. What does one want to know? What are one’s problems? Are we meeting one’s needs? And to rise to a heightened level, embedding writers in the community where they live allows them to best serve the diverse voices and rich history unique to each neighborhood, city, town or region.
The conversation with Bolden ends with upbeat optimism. In his professional life, Bolden says, “I see opportunities everywhere. We now have more diverse voices that open our eyes to things we’ve never thought about. The industry is broadening; we’re opening the tent to innovators. We can’t tightly control the flow of information. We have technology to help us experiment, try new things.”
In his personal time, Bolden will explore the East Bay’s abundant arts activities—he loves ballet—and acclimate his two Sheepadoodles to the area. Named “Grace” to honor his late mother and “Gabriella,” a niece’s suggestion, Bolden says, “They make quite the pair.” The same might be said of Bolden and the future of journalism at UC Berkeley.
