Berkeley Journalism Program Captures Share Of Prestigious Honor

BERKELEY, CA — A Berkeley journalism program has captured a share of a prestigious honor.

UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program was honored along with two other outlets it collaborated with for coverage of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

The UC Berkeley program, ProPublica’s A.C. Thompson and PBS Frontline shared the George Polk Awards in Journalism for National Television reporting.

“American Insurrection” documents the far-right extremist event fueled by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud.

The documentary triggered multiple federal probes, one of which led to the arrest of four white supremacists and led to a Pentagon effort to snuff out extremism among active-duty service members.

The Investigative Reporting Program is a professional newsroom and teaching institute, according to its website.

“We are committed to reporting stories that expose injustice and abuse of power while training the next generation of journalists in the highest standards of our craft,” the IRP’s website said.

Long Island University presented the awards Monday in 15 different news categories.

“The work of these distinguished journalists proves that diligent reporting will always have the power to affect positive change throughout the world,” said LIU President Kimberly R. Cline said in a statement.

“Long Island University is pleased to recognize this year’s George Polk Award winners for their exceptional investigations that will be remembered over the course of history.”