How to Access The Berkeley Beacon and Get Involved

Updated

The Berkeley Beacon is Emerson College's only independent, student-run newspaper, and you can read it at berkeleybeacon.com, where content is published online daily. During the academic year, a print edition comes out on Thursdays. If you're an Emerson student, the paper also functions as a place to gain professional journalism experience. The sections below cover how to read it, what it covers, and how students typically participate.

Reading The Berkeley Beacon

The Beacon describes itself as publishing content online daily and in print on Thursdays throughout the academic year. That gives you two ways to follow it:

  • Online: berkeleybeacon.com is the primary daily outlet. The homepage carries current stories across news, campus, metro, opinion, and other sections.
  • Print: The Thursday print edition runs during the academic year, so coverage pauses or changes cadence outside that window.

If you want to follow a specific topic rather than browse, the site organizes stories by section (for example, Campus, Metro, Opinion, and Sports-style categories visible in its navigation), so you can go straight to the area you care about.

What The Beacon Covers

Based on the reporting visible on the site, coverage falls into a few recognizable buckets:

Area Examples from the paper
Campus news Emerson's Study Abroad Fair, the opening of the Cutler-Winn Commons, Student Government Association meetings, enrollment trends
College policy and partnerships Emerson's partnership with the architecture firm HDR Inc.
Metro / Boston A 9/11 memorial fund event at the State House, an incident on Boston Common
Opinion and commentary Op-eds, editorials, letters from the editor, comics
Student life and programs The Kasteel Well program's 40th anniversary, the ASL Club's Deaf Coffee Chat

The through-line is Emerson and its surrounding Boston community, written by students for the Emerson community.

Is It Independent From the College?

Yes — the Beacon describes itself as Emerson College's only independent, student-run newspaper, and it has operated in that role since 1947. "Independent" here means it is not the college's official communications arm; it is run by students and produces its own editorial content. That distinction matters when you read opinion pieces or editorials, which reflect the paper's or writers' views rather than the administration's.

How Students Get Involved

The paper states that one of its aims is to give students opportunities to gain professional experience. In practice, that means student involvement spans reporting, editing, photography, design, and production rather than a single role. If you're an Emerson student interested in participating, the practical path is:

  1. Read the paper first to understand its sections and voice.
  2. Look for contact or masthead information on the site, which lists editorial roles and how to reach them.
  3. Reach out about the area you want to work in — writing, visuals, or production.

The Beacon also co-sponsors events; for example, it was a listed co-sponsor of a gathering of journalists in solidarity after a court blocked a media ban, and its editor-in-chief gave remarks there. That's a reminder that involvement isn't limited to filing stories — the paper shows up in the community too.

Quick Answers

  • Where do I read it? berkeleybeacon.com, updated daily.
  • Is there a print edition? Yes, on Thursdays during the academic year.
  • Is it run by the college? No — it's independent and student-run, founded in 1947.
  • Can students join? Yes; the paper exists partly to give students professional experience, and you can inquire through the contact details on its site.