The Daily Californian is an independent, student-run newspaper published by the Independent Berkeley Students Publishing Company, Inc.  The Daily Californian covers both the UC Berkeley campus and the city of Berkeley.

The newspaper publishes Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and 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.

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. Connect with current Daily Cal student leadership and staff by clicking here.

One of the few campus newspapers in the country that is completely independent from the university it covers, the Daily Cal supports itself through advertising revenue and does receive funding from the V.O.I.C.E. Initiative, which requires all UC Berkeley students to pay $2 per semester.

The Daily Cal earned its independence in 1971 and publishes with the name “The Daily Californian” pursuant to a licensing agreement with the UC Board of Regents.

The move toward 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 composed 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 input or control over 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, which constitutes mostly Daily Cal alumni, also has no influence on editorial content or policy.

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 alumni association holds regular reunions and receptions across the country. Alumni are established and leading journalists in news organizations such 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 2012 and 2013, the Daily Cal was named best daily student newspaper and best student newspaper website in California by the California College Media Association. The Associated College Press also awarded the Daily Cal one of the six Online Pacemaker Awards in 2016, recognizing the Daily Cal as one of the top online student publications.