Gina Baleria, a longtime broadcast and digital journalist and Sonoma State University professor, teaching Journalism, Media Writing, Radio & Podcasting, & Digital Media. She is also host and producer of the News in Context podcast, which airs on 102.5 KSFP in San Francisco and online. Gina is focused on cultivating intangible skills in budding journalists and professional communicators, including curiosity, empathy, tenacity, engaging with communities, and recognizing our unconscious biases. This focus led her to author The Journalism Behind Journalism: Going Beyond the Basics to Train Effective Journalists in a Shifting Landscape (Routledge 2021), a book about ethical storytelling, community engagement, and developing foundational intangible communication and journalism skills. In addition, Gina co-authored Writing & Reporting News for the 21st Century (Cognella, 2018), winner of the 2020 Textbook Award from the Broadcast Education Association (BEA). Her research and creative interests revolve around news and digital media literacy, podcasting, and digital engagement and communication across socially salient differences. Prior to becoming a professor, Gina was an award-winning broadcast and digital journalist at stations including KCBS Radio, KGO TV and KGO Radio in San Francisco; KXTV and KFBK in Sacramento; and KCAL in Los Angeles. She also helped create and manage a digital newsroom at the nonpartisan nonprofit governance organization, California Forward. As an American with Italian heritage, Gina speaks Italian and lives in San Francisco.
Telling the World's Stories