$10M gift is largest ever for Berkeley journalism school

At a time when newspapers are vanishing and competition for online readership is fierce, a $10 million gift to the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism announced Thursday suggests the future remains bright for students going into the field.

In donating the largest single gift in the journalism school’s history, Angela Filo, who earned a master’s degree there in 1999, and her husband, David Filo, who co-founded Yahoo, said its importance extends beyond the program itself.

“Great journalism is essential to a thriving democracy,” Angela Filo said in a statement. “We have to invest in training the next generation of journalists who will ensure that communities have access to reliable and responsive information they can trust.”

The two-year program enrolls about 120 students who earn a master’s degree in journalism. The gift from the Palo Alto philanthropists is expected to double the amount of financial aid offered to incoming students this fall and fatten the school’s endowment. A portion will be set aside to match new donations.

“This gift is an extraordinary investment in journalism education, which is an investment in justice, democracy and the health of our planet,” said Dean Geeta Anand, who is aiming to raise $54.4 million over the next five years for the school.

The goals of the fundraising campaign include an emphasis on equity, which means “changing who gets to be a journalist by supporting the diversity of students who come to the school and enabling all students to graduate debt free,” the school said in its statement announcing the Filos’ gift.

Angela Filo, who serves on the journalism school’s advisory board, worked as a high school journalism and photography teacher in East Palo Alto after graduating, and has served on the board of the Student Press Law Center, which advises journalism students on legal matters.

She and her husband support Press Forward, a national movement to bolster journalism, which many regard as the backbone of American democracy.

The couple’s Skyline Foundation supports a range of nonprofits working in several areas ranging from journalism to climate change.