Richard Ross has partnered with the LA Press Club to create the Tony Ross Scholarship, named for his late son, Anthony Darrow Ross.
Richard received his undergraduate degree from Stanford in 1954 and his JD from USC Law in 1959, after serving two years as a Lieutenant in the Military Police, U.S. Army. After the unexpected death of his wife, Lorrie, in 1960, Richard left a promising career in entertainment law and took a position as a Deputy District Attorney which allowed him more time to be with and care for his infant son, Tony, who was then 8 months old.
Tony was an intelligent, creative and charismatic young man who had a strong interest in journalism. He worked as a reporter and then as an editor for his high school newspaper and won various journalism awards (such as first place for Headline Writing). He also served as the news anchor for his school’s TV station and then had a summer internship as a reporter with KCOP-13, a local TV station. He attended Wesleyan University and planned to embark upon a career in journalism, but during his sophomore year, after a series of personal losses, Tony took his own life in a remote portion of a state park in South Carolina.
Richard changed careers, earning a doctorate in clinical psychology and serving as a Hearing Referee in the Mental Health Department of Los Angeles Superior Court. He is proud of his affiliation with the Didi Hirsch Suicide Prevention Center and has found personal satisfaction in contributing to their programs offering support to other survivors of suicide, as well as their ongoing efforts in suicide prevention.
Richard is now retired but feels it is important to establish a scholarship in memory of Tony, supporting young people interested in journalism. He is concerned about the recent practice of disparaging and deriding the news media and believes that nothing is more important to the survival of our democracy than a free and inquiring press.
Ready to Apply?
The 2024 application period is open. DEADLINE: 11:59 P.M. MONDAY, MAY 13, 2024.
Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to student journalists in Southern California. Apply today and don't miss out on this awesome opportunity! Got a question? Email info@lapressclub.org.
2023 Tony Ross Scholarship Recipients
Trisha Anas
Anas is a Filipino American student journalist and freelancer studying at California State University, Northridge. She is editor-in-chief of the college paper, The Sundial.
In 2020, Anas was a reporter at Los Angeles Pierce College’s news publication, The Roundup and became editor-in-chief while working as a clinical care partner at UCLA Health. After studying nursing for two years, she realized it was not her passion. She was drawn to the stories she heard from her patients.
With her know-how in the medical field, Anas hopes to produce journalism that is digestible for the public and helps avoid misinformation and confusion.
Delilah Brumer
Brumer graduated this month from Daniel Pearl Magnet High School, where she was editor-in-chief of The Pearl Post student newspaper. Also this year, she was honored as the California High School Journalist of the Year by the Journalism Education Association.
Brumer freelances for the Los Angeles Daily News, where she has written stories on such topics as a strike held by Los Angeles Unified School District support staff and Van Nuys residents’ fear of fumes from air traffic at a local airport. She is also a photography intern at the Getty Museum.
Brumer is heading to Northwestern University to study journalism and Spanish, and aspires to become an investigative journalist.
2022 Tony Ross Scholarship Recipients
River Simard
River's passion for journalism emerged in the sixth grade when he decided he wanted to tell both big and small stories.
A natural leader, Simard became the editor-in-chief of his school newspaper and motivated other teens in the LA area to become politically active. In 2018, he was part of a group that organized a protest called “No Guns L.A.,” following a spate of school shootings.
Simard is currently studying International and Global Studies at Brandeis University and dreams of becoming an international journalist, covering Middle East or European relations. He writes for his college newspaper, The Justice.
Victoria Valenzuela
Victoria, currently a senior at the University of Southern California pursuing a degree in English, is determined to become a “truth-telling” journalist.
Two months before turning 16, her father was arrested and faced a life sentence in prison. She remembers the phone calls that bombarded her home from journalists and news stations asking for a statement from the family. That experience shaped her journalistic outlook: As she moves forward, Victoria aims to keep in mind the importance of respecting people’s personal lives and perspectives.
Valenzuela hopes to carry the responsibility and determination she has accumulated into her career as a journalist.