Los Angeles Press Club

CNN’s Anderson Cooper, NPR’s Anne Garrels and CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Dave Bryan to receive top honors at 52nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards

diana — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:03:19 +0000

LOS ANGELES – CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, NPR Senior Foreign Correspondent Anne Garrels and CBS2/KCAL9 reporter Dave Bryan will receive the Los Angeles Press Club’s highest honors at the 52nd Annual Southern California Journalism Awards on Sunday, June 27.

They will be among hundreds of media professionals taking part in the Southland’s oldest and most distinguished journalism gala.

Cooper will receive the President’s Award, for his impact on the media. He was the first American TV reporter on the scene in Haiti, following the devastating earthquake in January. Since the launch of Anderson Cooper 360° in 2003, Cooper has covered nearly all of the major news events around the world, often reporting from the scene.

Bryan, a TV reporter for more than 30 years at KTTV and now at CBS2/KCAL9, will receive the Joseph M. Quinn Award for lifetime achievement.

Anne Garrels is the 2010 recipient of the Daniel Pearl Award for courage in recognition of her selflessness in pursuing difficult, often dangerous stories over the years around the world. The award will be presented by Judea Pearl, father of the late Wall Street Journal reporter killed by Pakistani extremists in 2002.

“It’s a great lineup for a great night in Southern California journalism,” says the new Press Club President Will Lewis, a public radio veteran based at KCRW-FM. “It proves the point that outstanding journalism continues despite unprecedented difficulties for all news media.”

The Club will honor quality reporting in print, radio, TV and online in Southern California for 2009. For the first time, it will offer a $1,000 check for “Best of Show” Journalist of the Year.

Deadline for entries is March 31. Rules, entry forms and categories are available at

http://lapressclub.org

Enter the 52nd Annual SoCal Journalism Awards and Win $1,000!

diana — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:35:08 +0000

New this year: Best of Show Journalist of the Year will be rewarded with a cash prize of $1,000! All Print Journalists will compete in two categories: publications 50,000 and over and publications under 50,000 circulation. See the expanded categories for Online and Student Media. Corporate members that submit 10 or more entries will earn a 20% discount. Individual members enjoy a 50% discount on three or more entries.

Call for entry 2010 PDF doc
Call for entry 2010 word doc

Covering the Prop. 8 Trial: Can the Gay Press Maintain Objectivity (and Should It?)

diana — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:43:11 +0000

The Proposition 8 trial underway in San Francisco presents a special problem for gay and lesbian reporters. How do they cover the trial objectively? And frankly, given that many write for the gay community which has strong feelings on the issue, should they? We’re assembled some of the top reporters in town to discuss this and other aspects of one of the nation’s most significant trials in the new century. Panelists include:

* Andrew Harmon, senior editor for The Advocate, advocate.com
* Ted Johnson, managing editor of Variety and blogger at wilshireandwashington.com
* Karen Ocamb, editor for Frontiers In LA and blogger at LGBT POV and the Huffington Post.

The panel will be moderated by Jon Beaupre, veteran radio reporter and anchor for NPR affiliate KPCC and a journalism professor at Cal State Los Angeles.

The discussion will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25, at the Los Angeles Press Club in the Steve Allen Theater, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., one block west of Vermont Ave., in Los Feliz. (Metro: Vermont/Sunset station). Free parking and refreshments. Open to everyone.

R.S.V.P. here

Life After Journalism: A Workshop at the Club March 11 has been canceled

diana — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:45:55 +0000

As radio, TV and newspaper staffs shrink, many journalists are having to face a career away from the news. Some of you are wondering: What skills do I really have? And who else could use my skills? What do hiring managers in other businesses see when they look at a journalist’s resume? Are there options beyond PR?

These are some of the questions Joe Ames has run into in the five years since he left the Orange County Register to launch a new career outside of the news. For nearly 30 years, Joe was a reporter and editor in radio, TV and newspapers. In addition to a 10-year stint as an editor at the Register, Joe was a reporter and editor at The Miami Herald, where he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for the coverage of Hurricane Andrew.

Joe has secured a university staff position, launched a consulting company with commercial, government and non-profit clients across the country and sits on three non-profit boards.
He has figured out “Life After Journalism.”

The exercises and discussions during his 90-minute free workshop can help you figure it out, too.

This event is ony open to press club members. Not a member? Join by clicking here.

2010 National Entertainment Journalism Awards Deadline Extended to Feb. 1st

diana — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:17:45 +0000

The Los Angeles Press Club is now open for entries for the 2010 National Entertainment Journalism Awards. These awards recognize excellence in entertainment journalism. Ceremonies will be held at the Steve Allen Theater in Hollywood on March 25, 2010.

2010 National Entertainment Journalism Awards Information
2010 Entry Form PDF | 2010 Entry Form Word Document | Pay Entry Fee Here

Book party for Amy Alkon’s I SEE RUDE PEOPLE

diana — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:49:00 +0000

After throwing LA Press Club book parties for everybody else’s books, Amy Alkon finally published her own — I SEE RUDE PEOPLE: One woman’s battle to beat some manners into impolite society.

To help Amy celebrate, please join her for a party at World Café, Santa Monica.

TIME/DATE: 6:30 to 9:30 pm, Wednesday, January 27. Brief reading at 7:30. (Short and funny – she promises!)

Complimentary wine from 6:30 to 7:30, and open bar after that.

Hors d’oeuvres (tomato, tapenade and goat cheese bruschetta and chicken skewers with a dipping sauce) will be served throughout the party.

PLACE: World Café, Santa Monica. 2820 Main Street, at Ashland Way, Santa Monica, CA 90405, 310-392-1661

See map for parking (metered lots between Main Street and Nielson Way.

Click here to RSVP

Alex Ben Block on how the Hollywood hype machine manipulates the media to create blockbusters

diana — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:13:36 +0000

Come hear The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Ben Block, lead editor of the new book George Lucas’s Blockbusting: A Decade-By-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies talk about how studio publicity campaigns help create blockbusters using techniques that range from sophisticated advertising to misleading hype. Block will take you behind the scenes to reveal how Hollywood’s marketing machine manipulates the global entertainment media. An award-winning journalist and show business historian, Block has studied the process and written about it for decades for The Hollywood Reporter, Television Week, Forbes and as a columnist, commentator and movie critic in Los Angeles and elsewhere. He has authored two other entertainment books. Block will be interviewed by USA Today film writer Scott Bowles, who will lead a lively audience discussion.

Thursday, January 14, Reception and talk at 7 p.m. at the LA Press Club, 4773 Hollywood Blvd., LA.

Wine and munchies. Free parking. Metro: Red Line, Vermont/Sunset station.

R.S.V.P. by clicking here

Free Civil Justice Seminar @ LA Press Club with Linda Deutsch, Saturday 2/6

diana — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 06:45:04 +0000

WHAT: Developed specifically for members of the media, this free seminar is a hands-on inside perspective about the civil justice system:
how to cover a civil versus criminal trial, trial ABCs, how the civil justice system works, key ins and outs when covering a trial, how to reach spokespeople quickly and efficiently, etc.

WHY: High interest among the public in these trials and their outcomes. Increasing need to have reporters prepared to cover any number of issues as the staff mix evolves.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND: Reporters who cover the courts, legal matters, City reporters, General assignment reporters, Consumer affairs reporters, Entertainment reporters.

SPONSORED BY CONSUMER ATTORNEYS ASSOCIATION OF LOS ANGELES:

PRESENTERS:

MORNING SESSION
Moderator — J. G. Preston, Press Secretary, Consumer Attorneys Association of California

Civil Justice System Overview
Professor Douglas NeJaime, Associate Professor of Law, Loyola Law School

The Defense Side
Jim Robie, Robie & Matthai; President, Association of Southern California Defense Counsel

The Plaintiff’s Side
Garo Mardirossian, Principal, Mardirossian and Associates, Inc.; President, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles

Trial ABCs
The Honorable Margaret Oldendorf, Judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court

AFTERNOON SESSION ROUNDTABLE
12:30-2:00 p.m.

Panel: Covering the Civil Justice System and Civil Trials

Moderator — J. G. Preston, Press Secretary, Consumer Attorneys of California

Panelists:
Patty Kinaga, Principal, Kinaga Olivarez LLP
Genie Harrison, Partner, Litt, Estuar, Harrison and Kitson; member of Board of Governors, Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles
The Honorable Mary Thornton House, Judge, Los Angeles County Superior Court
Denise Nix, Legal Reporter, Daily Breeze
Linda Deutsch, AP Special Correspondent, Associated Press
Vania Stuelp, Deputy Public Information Officer, Los Angeles County Superior Court

RSVP by clicking here

Make a Donation to Los Angeles Press Club

diana — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:34:31 +0000

If you are looking for a way to support something you enjoy and value, while at the same time reducing your taxes to Uncle Sam, we are a non-profit 501c3 and would more than welcome your donation, which is fully tax-deductible.

We would be honored if you would consider us for a donation of any size, small or large. Your donation can be via check or credit card.

To donate using a credit card, click here.

LA Press Club Urges Passage of a Federal Shield Law

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 19:30:15 +0000

The Board of the Los Angeles Press Club endorses the Senate Judiciary Committee’s bill to establish a qualified privilege for journalists to protect their confidential sources and the public’s right to know.

The Free Flow of Information Act, S. 448, was voted out of committee earlier this month by a bi-partisan 14-5 vote.

The current version of this “Federal Shield Law” may not give reporters all the protection they need, but it’s an important step in the right direction.

The bill would extend its protection to include bloggers, freelancers and any other person involved in disseminating news and information. All reporters’ telephone records and email used in gathering the news are also protected. However, national security can still be invoked by the government to demand a reporter’s sources.

“After years of debate and countless cases of reporters being held in contempt, fined and even jailed for honoring their professional commitment not to publicly reveal their sources, the time has come to enact a balanced federal shield law,” said committee chairman, Patrick Leahy, (D-Vt).

The Press Club urges Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer to assist in bringing this bill before the full Senate for a successful vote as soon as possible.