Candidates in alphabetical order. Asterisks denote incumbents. LAPC Active Members — click here to cast your vote! Ballot closes Wednesday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m.
Danny Bakewell, Jr., Los Angeles Sentinel
Danny J. Bakewell, Jr. serves as the executive editor and chief of staff of the Los Angeles Sentinel, the largest African American-owned and operated newspaper west of the Mississippi, The Los Angeles Watts Times and WBOK Radio in New Orleans, Louisiana (the only talk radio station in the South dedicated totally to issues which affect the African American community). The Sentinel and the Watts Times each have a circulation base of over 250,000 weekly readers, and WBOK has a listening audience of over 100,000 as well as a major web presence with lasentinel.net, lawattstimes.com and wbok1230am.com.
Danny Jr. is a board member of the USC Black Alumni Association, a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. (Pasadena Alumni Chapter). He was recently appointed as the Political Action Chairman of the fraternity for the Western Region. He is also a Life Member of the NAACP and a board member of Sabriya’s Castle of Fun and the United Negro College Fund (Los Angeles).
He has been an LA Press Club board member since 2020.
“Serving on the board with the other fabulous journalist and having the opportunity to represent our collective industry has truly been a humbling experience. Being able to give voice, background and perspective from a diverse group is what makes the LA Press Club one of the loudest voices and biggest advocates for our ever-changing industry. It would be an honor and privilege to serve another term on the board. ”
Cher Calvin, KTLA
Cher Calvin is a seasoned journalist with over two decades of experience in the field. She has been with KTLA for 18 years, where she has worked as a reporter, anchor, and producer. Cher anchors the weekday evening news on KTLA at 5PM, 6PM, 10PM and 11PM.
Cher has covered a wide range of stories, from breaking news to human interest pieces, and has received numerous awards and accolades for her work, including multiple Emmy Awards the most recent “Breaking Bias: Asian Hate” a show she conceptualized, produced and anchored. With her exceptional writing, reporting, and production skills, Cher is highly regarded by her peers and is a respected member of the journalism community.
Cher Calvin would be honored to continue to be the Vice President of the LA Press Club. Cher loves to be part of the process of organizing and hosting the bi-annual LA Press Club events that bring journalists in Southern California and the world together to celebrate their hard work.
During her time as Vice President, Cher has worked tirelessly to promote the goals and values of the LA Press Club and has helped to increase its visibility and impact in the industry. Cher has also been a board member of the LA Press Club since 2014, where she has made a significant impact and contributed to the organization’s success by promoting its events and handling a significant amount of entries to both the NAEJ and the SoCal Journalism awards. During the early months of the pandemic, Cher was on the committee to help allocate grant money to those journalists in our community that needed financial assistance.
David “Doc” DeMulle, The Foothill Newspaper
“I have been in news gathering business since my stringer photography days with Stars and Stripes in Vietnam 1967-68. When I got back to the states and got my medical release, I became Asst. Editor on the Poly Post Newspaper at Cal Poly Pomona. I also created a monthly student magazine (The Student Opinion Bulletin) that ran until I graduated (1971). I became involved with the houseless situation in 1980 – 1985 and created a monthly newsletter called “Life Line” that ran for about 3 years addressing homeless and battered women’s shelters. In November of 2004, I created an all-volunteer 501C(3) weekly newspaper called The Foothills Paper and still serve as Executive Editor. (18+ years).
We took a hiatus when the Pandemic hit our local community but with a grant from the LAPC, we were able to re-start our newspaper as a bi-weekly. When we got back on our feet, I repaid the grant to LAPC so that they could give it to other members.
After looking at the people on the existing board, I was thinking that those members are all in high-paying, high-profile jobs and probably don’t have any experience with “local homeless/political” news events. In 2008, I created the only self-sustaining homeless shelter system in Southern California that provided both housing and jobs to its occupants. The newspaper was used to address the houseless/homeless needs in our community and acted as a gadfly to the corrupt politicians I had to deal with on the city council and its ancillary neighborhood councils.
That is what I can bring to the table.”
Scott Feinberg, The Hollywood Reporter
Scott Feinberg is the executive editor of awards coverage at The Hollywood Reporter, where has worked since 2011. One of Hollywood’s most widely read and respected awards experts, he writes about all things Oscars, Emmys and Tonys, and also interviews top contenders for those awards on his acclaimed podcast Awards Chatter. He previously wrote for the Los Angeles Times.
Scott has been honored to serve on the board of the LA Press Club since 2019. As a lover of journalism and journalists, and with the goal of continuing to help bring exciting speakers and honorees to LA Press Club events, he would welcome the opportunity to continue his service on the board.
George Pennacchio, ABC7
George Pennacchio is the longtime entertainment reporter for ABC7.
He joined the station back in 1996. Besides his duties on the news, George also hosts the station’s “On The Red Carpet” specials, which include the internationally syndicated Oscar pre- and post-shows.
During his broadcasting career, George has won four Emmy Awards along with several other honors for his work.
For many years, he served on the board of The Thalians, which raises money for mental health issues. For a quarter of a century, he and his wife, Erin, have also rescued greyhounds.
George has been an L.A. Press Club board member since 2019 and a member of the group before that.
Why I want to continue serving:
“When I joined the board of the L.A. Press Club, I quickly realized I was part of a group that truly cares about journalism. I may cover entertainment for a living but I was a newscast producer for years and I’ve covered news stories. The board is full of people who do different things in our profession. I like that my job is a good fit. We are an opinionated group and we feel free to offer our opinions on all the subjects we tackle.
Bianca Rae, Spectrum News 1
“I am a news anchor at Spectrum News LA and a proud member of the LA Press Club.
I’ve been an anchor at Spectrum News for nearly four years, and in that role, I anchor everything from daily newscasts to breaking news updates to wall-to-wall breaking news coverage. I also helm our entertainment coverage, covering awards season and red carpets. I have enjoyed covering everything from the Oscars to the Grammys to the Golden Globes and getting a chance to ask celebrities meaningful questions on the red carpet, specifically about their philanthropy and the way they use their platform to impact change.
On that note, philanthropy and impacting change have always been a big part of my life. I have my own 501(c)(3) nonprofit I started nearly a decade ago called the Bianca Rae Foundation. I started this out in the Palm Springs area, which is where I began my journalism career. Our signature program is the Rae of Hope Retreat which focuses on mentoring underprivileged youth. Now in its 9th year, we’ve had more than 3,000 children attend to date. It’s a really powerful day where middle school kids rotate through breakout groups learning about self-esteem building, anti-bullying, and other social and emotional life skills. I am fiercely passionate about helping young people achieve their fullest potential.
One of the things I’m most proud of has been my ability to find a powerful intersection between my career in journalism and philanthropy. I found a unique way to make a difference not only through my storytelling but also using contacts I’ve learned along the way to get involved with mentorship through my nonprofit and subsequently help more children in Southern California. I can use this skill set to help LA Press Club and all of its fundraising efforts as well. As a potential LA Press Club board member, I am particularly interested in getting involved in the Foot in the Door Fellowship. I regularly have up-and-coming journalists reach out to me for career advice and I truly enjoy answering every single message and even meeting them in person and mentoring them. It’s a really big part of what brings me happiness. Through my experience with my own nonprofit and fundraising events, I also am extremely capable with event planning and organization, and I would love to be involved in helping plan, set up and execute the award shows, many of which I’ve been blessed to attend.
It was truly an honor to win multiple LA Press Club awards the last few years, as well as my very first Emmy last summer. I would truly love to get involved more in the community here in Los Angeles, help advance journalism in Southern California, and help open doors for future journalists to come. Thank you for considering me!”
Lisa Richwine, Reuters
Lisa Richwine is a media and entertainment correspondent for Reuters news agency, where she covers topics ranging from the rise of streaming services to diversity in Hollywood and the pandemic’s impact on the movie business. She joined the Los Angeles Press Club board in 2017, and for the past three years has served as the club’s president.
“I believe the press club’s mission of supporting serious journalism is more important than ever. We have expanded our programming in recent years and I would be thrilled to help lead future efforts to recognize excellent work, fund in-depth investigations and mentor young journalists.”
Adam Tanswell, International Journalist
“I’ve been a freelance print, online and TV journalist for nearly 30 years and have lived in LA for the past 16 years. Originally from the UK, I’m currently the Hollywood Correspondent for the British movie magazine Total Film and also write for publications including Radio Times and SFX. Alongside my career in journalism, I bring experience in communications, public relations and special events.
I’ve been a member of the LA Press Club for many years and have been lucky enough to win a number of awards at the NAEJ and SoCal Journalism galas. I’m also the Executive Secretary of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, where I hear about the needs and concerns of journalist members from around the world.
I am deeply passionate about being a journalist and have board-level experience. I’d relish the opportunity to help my colleagues in the industry, as well as encourage and support fresh talent.
Catalina Villegas, Spectrum News 1
Catalina Villegas is a weekend anchor and reporter for Spectrum News 1 in Los Angeles. As a Latina and asylum seeker, Catalina’s work focuses heavily on immigration and other social justice issues impacting minority and migrant communities. Before working at Spectrum, she was a news producer and anchor at Univision, and a producer at NBC.
Catalina has been part of the LA Press Club Board of Directors for over a year and a half. In that time, she has contributed to the press club’s awards shows and served as a judge for entries coming from other press clubs. Catalina has been a leader in the Foot in the Door Fellowship program, where she has served as a mentor twice and is beginning a third consecutive mentoring assignment. Catalina has also been part of nearly every vote the press club has had during her tenure and has represented the club at professional functions.
Catalina would like to continue working on behalf of the LA Press Club and the Los Angeles press core, giving a voice to journalists of color and creating more opportunities for up-and-coming media professionals.
