Skip to Main Content
Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson encampment: A look at connection and chaos

A letter to Howie Carr

By Ella Mordarski, Guest Author / April 29, 2024

Dear Howie Carr,  The horrifying screams echoing up from the alley will forever be ingrained in my mind.  On April 25, 2024, I watched from...

Who are the core leaders behind EmersonTogether?

Letter from the Editor: On breaking news and intentional reporting

By Sophia Pargas, editor in chief / March 27, 2024

So often as journalists, we are told there is “a way things have always been.”  We set our deadlines and work towards them diligently to remain...

‘They’re logical things, but they're not human beings’: What is ChatGPT, and what should we be concerned about?

‘They’re logical things, but they’re not human beings’: What is ChatGPT, and what should we be concerned about?

By Meg Richards / April 26, 2023

ChatGPT, a new artificial intelligence program that has the capability to write basically anything can write your essays for you. Emerson community members,...

Emerson community remembers marathon bombing 10 years later

Emerson community remembers marathon bombing 10 years later

By Bailey Allen / April 19, 2023

On April 15, 2013, 19-year-old journalism major Madeline Bilis ‘16 stood on Newbury Street with a classmate by her side and a camera, tripod, and microphone...

Megan Mitchell as a Good Morning Emerson host in 2013

Emerson Alum, journalist, and viral TikToker: Megan Mitchell does it all

By Emma Bowen and Meg Richards / March 9, 2023

Emerson alum Megan Mitchell has built a wildly successful journalism career off of her TikTok success, bridging the gap between old and new media. She...

Emerson Alumna Cerise Castle

Emerson alum Cerise Castle awarded American Mosaic Journalism Prize

By Quinn O'Connor / March 2, 2023

After Cerise Castle was struck by a rubber bullet while reporting on Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles on May 30, 2020, her doctors advised her...

Mark Leccese

Mark Leccese: Longtime professor, reporter, trumpet player retiring after 16 years at Emerson

By Ryan Forgosh / February 16, 2023

Mark Leccese has been a reporter, an editor, and everything in between. Now, after 16 years at Emerson, the longtime journalism professor is stepping away...

Comedy news programs are paving the way for a new era of journalism

Comedy news programs are paving the way for a new era of journalism

By Gabel Strickland / September 8, 2022

They conduct interviews with high profile figures, expose corruption in large corporations, and keep you up to date on the latest political news. And,...

Bill Alex's yearbook photo in The Emersonian, 1966.

‘Born communicator’ from class of 1966 leaves behind journalism scholarship

By Camilo Fonseca / March 31, 2022

Vassilios Alex didn’t learn English until kindergarten. That didn’t stop the Emerson alum from a decades-long radio career that saw him take on everything...

The sign outside of the Cutler Majestic Theater.

Emerson community weighs in with their thoughts on Ukraine

Sophomore visual and media arts major Yujun Liu gets texts from his friend in Ukraine, who updates him on the war he is experiencing firsthand. “He...

The Flag of the Dominican Republican

Why independent journalism is dying in the Dominican Republic

By Shannon Garrido / December 10, 2021

I knew early on that journalism was a main interest of mine. So, I decided to take a three-month internship at HOY newspaper, in Santo Domingo, Dominican...

Harassment of journalists in Kashmir is getting worse every day

Harassment of journalists in Kashmir is getting worse every day

By Mariyam Quaisar / October 14, 2021

India’s government is treating journalists in Kashmir as terrorists, and it is disproportionately affecting Muslims. From being unnecessarily arrested...

A bomb squad storms the Copley Westin Hotel on Sept. 12, 2001, looking for potential terrorist suspects.

Beacon alums look back on catastrophe coverage

By Camilo Fonseca / September 16, 2021

On Sept. 6, 2001, sophomore journalism major Cyndi Roy was writing about first-year orientation and college dorm policy. She never imagined that, just...

Anum Hussain, one of the founders of Below the Fold.

Emerson alum creates daily newsletter

By Karissa Schaefer / September 9, 2021

In 2020, Anum Hussain ‘13 launched Below the Fold, a free daily newsletter determined to catch stories that fall in between the cracks of mainstream...

Evan Allen and Brendan McCarthy working on the “Blind Spot” investigation

Alums part of Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize winning team credit Emerson for success

By Mariyam Quaisar / July 6, 2021

When Brendan McCarthy and Evan Allen graduated from Emerson, almost a decade apart, there was no way they could’ve known they would find themselves part...

Evan Allen '11 (left) and Brendan McCarthy '04

Emerson alums win Pulitzer Prize for Boston Globe reporting

By Camilo Fonseca, Assistant News Editor / June 11, 2021

Two Emerson College alumni, Brendan McCarthy and Evan Allen, were among a team of Boston Globe journalists to receive a Pulitzer Prize on Friday, honoring...

Demonstrates carry a peace sign flag on Boston Common in reaction to Joe Biden's presidential victory on Saturday, November 7, 2020.

As a journalist, I still deserve to have an opinion

By Lucia Thorne / February 10, 2021

As journalists, we are taught that objectivity is the key to good reporting. We’re taught we must not allow our biases to seep into our reporting and...

Former SGA Executive President Will Palauskas at an academic town hall in 2018.

SGA academic town hall tackles diversity, burnout

By Frankie Rowley / November 12, 2020

The Student Government Association’s third annual academic town hall Oct. 27 played host to discussions about diversity within several academic departments...

I, along with many people who study, work, or live in between these two countries, am balancing on a wobbly cultural bridge. And it also seems the once-strong international journalism community I used to aspire to be a part of is eroding.

Caught in the middle of the U.S. and China conflict as a journalist

By Jocelyn Yang / August 4, 2020

When I first landed in the U.S. during high school, the customs officer asked me what I wanted to pursue as a career. When I told him journalism, his immediate...

Former Editor-in-Chief Chris Van Buskirk in front of a very legendary establishment.

After 1,033 days, an editor says farewell

By Chris Van Buskirk, Former Editor-in-Chief / June 30, 2020

It was a Tuesday around 6:50 p.m. when shots rang out across Boston Common. Students were told to shelter in place several minutes later but a young...