Guest teacher: Industry pioneer Bruce Koon on the language of news and opinion

Newsroom by the Bay has a tradition of inviting guest teachers who are working journalists and industry veterans to give students an up-close look at the profession they’re practicing now and considering as a career.

This year’s guest teachers will include Bruce Koon, a pioneering journalist and media manager who was at ground zero for many of the news industry’s milestone forays into digital news.

As news director for both KQED News and KQED Radio in San Francisco, Koon led award-winning news teams, developed strategies and structures for digital news operations, and mentored and inspired a new generation of writers, editors, educators and students.

A co-founding director of the Online News Association and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association, he continues to explore the evolution of news reporting and newsroom structures, diversity in news and strategies for strengthening local news reporting.

Koon has taught workshops and classes at the university level, most recently at San Francisco State University. He has also worked as a consultant for organizations such as the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. He’ll teach a Year 1 class this summer on the opinion-editorial and on distinguishing fact from opinion in news.

Welcome, Bruce!