Sobhan Hassanvand

I’m a multimedia journalist from Iran, driven by a lifelong fascination with news—its significance in people’s lives and its role in keeping them informed. I’m originally from Aleshtar in western Iran, where the morning newspapers used to arrive in the evening at best. I spent a decade reporting news on social media and helping newsrooms and journalists in Tehran adapt to digital platforms for social-first reporting before moving to California to study at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

After graduating, I helped a local Bay Area newsroom utilize social platforms to report news and tell stories that reach local communities and younger audiences—a rewarding experience in local reporting with a small but community-driven team of journalists.