Day: September 17, 2004

Friday, September 17, 2004 9:43 PM The L.A. Sunshine Coalition, which is pressing the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) to codify measures they passed on April 2 to make government more open and acces- sible to the public, has issued a call for help from members, jour- nalists and other concerned citizens. The Board has given its various departments until mid- October to implement necessary changes. During this period, a small ad hoc task force of Sunshine Coalition members are attempting to monitor compliance. “But we need your…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:32 PM

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:29 PM BY SANDY COHEN It’s been one of Hollywood’s most exclu- sive nightclubs for more than 40 years. Overlooking the city from its hillside perch on Franklin Avenue, the Magic Castle is a private haven for magicians and celebrities. Siegfried & Roy (minus the tigers) got their start there. So did David Copperfield. Orson Welles and Cary Grant used to be regulars at the Castle’s multiple bars. Today it’s Drew Barrymore and Jason Alexander. In fact, it usually takes magic to get in. It’s a…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:27 PM BY JILL STEWART Diplomats, foreign journalists and immigra- tion officials joined in a lively Press Club debate over restrictions on foreign journalists who arrive in the U.S. to cover news events. The July panel discussion drew dozens of journalists, with interest particularly height- ened due to recent headlines over British reporter Elena Lappin, who was detained at LAX, handcuffed and stuck overnight in an isolation room. According to panel coordinator and Reason magazine reporter Matt Welch, since early 2003, agents of the Department of…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:24 PM BY DIANA LJUNGAEUS Melissa Morrissette has known that she wanted to be a journalist since she was six years old. By the time she reached the sixth grade, she wrote her idol, Los Angeles TV anchor Pat Harvey, asking her for advice. Harvey’s answer: “She told me to stay in school, to major in journalism, take political science and above all, love what I do in order to be good at it.” Melissa followed Harvey’s advice and is now in her third year at…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:23 PM August Panel at Press Club Sorts It Out BY ANTHEA RAYMOND Who benefits when information gets out? This question helped shape the Press Club’s August 4 panel on changes at the BBC after the so-called “Neil Report.” The BBC conducted an internal audit after being criticized by the British government for its handling of Andrew Gilligan’s “unfounded” reporting and its unfortunate outcome—the suicide of its sole anonymous source, weapons expert David Kelly. The Neil Report recommends that the BBC put lawyers in newsrooms to…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:22 PM BY TED JOHNSON Candidates for the 2005 Los Angeles Press Club Board of Directors are invited to present their proposals at the Annual Meeting on Sept. 30 in Hollywood. Any journalist who has been a member of the Press Club for at least a year is welcome to run for one of seven open seats. At the gathering, which usually attracts a good- sized crowd of journalists and other Press Club members, candidates will present short statements about themselves and their ideas. If interested,…

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Friday, September 17, 2004 8:12 PM Karen Ocamb, a high-profile member of the Los Angeles Press Club Board of Directors and an award-winning journalist, is stepping down to devote more time to her flowering career. At the August 2004 board meeting, which adjourned in Karen’s honor, several board members spoke about the incredible work Karen has done since 2001 to fight for public access to supposedly “open” government records and meetings, which are often wrongly and illegally restricted. As chairwoman of the club-supported coalition known as the Sunshine Committee, Karen…

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