Roland De Wolk

Roland De Wolk (born April 8, 1953), is an internationally recognized journalist who expert in an unusually wide array of skills in the news and information industries. His deep background in print, broadcast and online journalism and widely cited accomplishments have placed him the center of a turbulent and tumultuous industry as it faces its greatest challenges and opportunities in centuries.

De Wolk spent the first half of his three-decade plus experience as a notable newspaper reporter at publications such as the Oakland Tribune [1]/, San Francisco Chronicle [2] and San Francisco Examiner [3] long before the creation of the World Wide Web. He was also published as a successful freelance reporter in publications such as the New York Times [4], Chicago Tribune [5] as well as legendary international publications such as the Paris Metro (now defunct).

Citing concerns about the future of print journalism, in 1991 De Wolk accepted a job at one of the largest and most successful broadcast news outlets in the nation [6] where he created the station’s first investigative reporting position, which he continues holding today. In 1993 he also accepted an adjunct professorship of journalism at San Francisco State University’s notable Journalism Department [7] where he taught and still teaches everything from the History of Journalism to Online Journalism, as well as newswriting, reporting, feature reporting and investigative reporting. He is also the managing editor for broadcast of the internationally noted Chauncey Bailey Project [8].

De Wolk’s most notable accomplishment at San Francisco State University has been the co-creator of the Online Journalism Program in the mid 1990s. With Professor Emeritus Leonard Sellers, De Wolk founded the program that started one of the very first original online news and information sites in the world, NewsPort. Org (v. 1). He is the author of the very first Online Journalism university textbook [9], widely used in the United States and abroad to this day, though critics have called for a new edition, citing the many changes that have taken place in the industry since his pioneer work.

Roland De Wolk has won most major journalism awards in his career, including the Society of Professional Journalists Career Achievement Award [10], four James Madison Freedom of Information Awards from SPJ, the coveted Casey Award [11] and the Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Journalism [12].

De Wolk has been a fellow at Stanford University, the Poynter Institute and has been a principal speaker for groups such as Best Practices in Journalism and the Investigative reporters and Editors [13]. He is a graduate of UC Berkeley, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and his married with two grown sons.