History

The Daily Californian is an independent, student-run newspaper published by the Independent Berkeley Students Publishing Company, Inc.  The Daily Californian is not a part of UC Berkeley or the UC system.

The Daily Cal first began publishing as the "University Echo" in March 1871.

The newspaper serves the UC Berkeley campus and its surrounding community, publishing Monday through Friday during the academic year and twice a week during the summer. Established in 1871, The Daily Californian is one of the oldest newspapers on the West Coast and one of the oldest college newspapers in the country. Daily Cal staffers have the unique opportunity of gaining daily metro news experience in the lively city of Berkeley. The newspaper has consistently covered the city and its institutions since its establishment, allowing student journalists to report on campus as well as city news. The Daily Cal also operates Best of Berkeley, a city guide and local arts Web site for the city of Berkeley.

One of the few campus newspapers in the country that is completely independent from the university it covers, the Daily Cal supports itself entirely from advertising revenue and does not receive equipment resources or any form of financial support from the university or the Associated Students of the University of California. The Daily Cal is run entirely by current or recently-graduated UC Berkeley students, and the majority of the business division of the newspaper is student-operated as well.

The front-page editorial that ultimately helped make the Daily Cal independent from the University of California.

The Daily Cal earned its independence in 1971 and publishes with the name, The Daily Californian, pursuant of a licensing agreement with the UC Board of Regents. The move towards independence was initiated after the university administration attempted to fire three editors because of a controversial editorial regarding People’s Park, a university-owned lot in the Southside neighborhood of Berkeley that became an unplanned park for locals.

A board of directors, comprised of Daily Cal alumni, UC Berkeley professors and working news media professionals, oversees long-term fiscal management for the newspaper. The board of directors has no control or input in the Daily Cal’s editorial policy or newsroom operations. In addition, another external board, the Daily Californian Education Foundation, oversees projects for the newspaper staff’s training and fundraising for the Daily Cal’s continual growth. The Education Foundation is also comprised mostly of Daily Cal alumni and also has no influence on editorial content or policy.

The Daily Cal's 1971 announcement of the agreement to separate from the university.

The Daily Californian Alumni Association is one the largest and most active alumni associations of any college newspaper. A chartered club of the California Alumni Association, the Daily Cal alumni association holds regular reunions and receptions across the country. Alumni are established and leading journalists in such news organizations as The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, People magazine, The Arizona Republic, The San Francisco Chronicle, The San Francisco Examiner, Sports Illustrated, NBC News, USA Today and The Washington Post.

In recent years, the Daily Cal has earned dozens of awards on a regional and national level for its comprehensive and high-quality coverage of UC Berkeley, the city of Berkeley and the entire UC system. In 2011, the Society of Professional Journalists declared the Daily Cal to be the best all-around student newspaper in California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii.