Monday, June 16, 2003 4:28 PM
Los Angeles Times columnist and well- known author Al Martinez has been selected as this year’s recipient of the President’s Award, to be presented at the Press Club’s Southern California Journalism Awards.
The award is given annually to an individual who has had substantial impact on journalism, the media and the greater community. Ted Johnson, president of the Los Angeles Press Club and a national writer at TV Guide, selected Martinez in consultation with the club’s board and will present the award.
“For years, Al Martinez has so vividly cap- tured the city, its larger-than-life figures and ordi- nary residents, with a combination of charm, wit and wisdom,” Johnson said. “His gift for insight and storytelling is unique in Los Angeles, and this award is long overdue.”
To be honored by one’s peers is the greatest of all honors, and I accept the Press Club’s award, if not with humility, at least great pleas- ure,” Martinez said. “Thank you for such a gen- erous acknowledgment of my work.”
Martinez has been a columnist at the Times since 1984. Before that, he was a feature writer and reporter for the Times’ Metro section from 1972 to 1984. During this period, Martinez won numerous awards. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service in 1984 for a series on the Southern California Latino com- munity, and contributed columns for the Times’ Pulitzer-winning coverage of the riots in 1992 and earthquake in 1994.
He was honored as Print Journalist of the Year by the Chicano News Media Association in 2002, as well as a National Headliner Award for best column in 1988. The Society of Professional Journalists named him Journalist of the Year in 1996.
Martinez’ career stretches over four decades. He was a military writer, feature writer and columnist for the Oakland Tribune from 1955 to 1971. After a stint in the U.S. Marine Corps, he started his career as a feature writer and reporter for the Richmond (Calif.) Independent in 1952.
Al has tackled scores of tough subjects over the years, and is perhaps most admired for his dry wit and work as humorist. In his 2000 novel, “The Last City Room,” he tackles the turbulent era of the early 1960s as a mythic San Francisco newspaper publisher clashes with radical campus leaders gaining power in the city.
Martinez has written nine books, including “City of Angles: A Driveby Portrait of L.A.” (St. Martin’s Press, 1996); “Rising Voices: A New Generation” (Nestle USA, 1994); “Dancing Under the Moon” (St. Martin’s Press, 1992) and “Ashes in the Rain” (TQS Publications, 1989).
In November, St. Martins Press will publish “I’ll Be Damned if I Die in Oakland: A Sort of Travel Memoir.” The Los Angeles Times book imprint will soon publish “Reflections,” a collec- tion of his columns.
In addition to journalism, Martinez also cre- ated three network television series and has 20 credits for writing TV movies. His 1992 TV movie, “Out on the Edge,” earned him an Emmy nomination.
Previous winners of the President’s Award include Bill Maher, Los Angeles Times Sacramento bureau chief Virginia Ellis and Adelphia public affairs host Bill Rosendahl.
