Back in 2011, the hundreds of journalists and storytellers who attended the Press Club's 53rd SoCal Journalism Awards, also witnessed the club present its first Public Service Award for Contributions to Civic Life.
That honor went to Los Angeles Times reporters Jeff Gottlieb and Ruben Vives, the tenacious duo who took the lead in exposing epic corruption and greed among Bell city officials. The nationally-acclaimed investigative series also led to a Pulitzer Prize shared by more than two dozen reporters and editors.
In 2016, the award was renamed after Bill Rosendahl, a progressive political leader, Los Angeles’ first openly gay City Council member, an educator, a Vietnam veteran, an award-winning host of thousands of public affairs programs and a president of the Los Angeles Press Club. He passed away March 30, 2016, at the age of 70.
The following distinguished group of journalists have received the Los Angeles Press Club’s Public Service Award for Contributions to Civic Life.