July Newsletter
Hello, dear SPJ/LAers! We’re at the end of the month, sneaking in under the wire with our chapter’s July newsletter!
The latest news . . .
You might have seen this week that SPJ/LA announced the distribution of $9,500 in scholarships to six students seeking to enter the field of journalism. The impressive list of awardees can be found here.
One big change: This year SPJ/LA decided to refocus the Richard D. Hendrickson Memorial Scholarship so that it serves students of color. The first recipient of that redesigned scholarship is Richard Tzul, who recently interned at Politico and is heading to the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
With COVID-19 still a serious concern in Southern California, SPJ/LA is deliberating on how to celebrate this year’s Distinguished Journalists Awards. The chapter's board is set to meet Aug. 9 to consider whether to stage an in-person event and if so, where and how.
Coming up . . .
While details of SPJ/LA’s awards ceremony are being worked out, our counterparts at SPJ national are putting the final touches on the upcoming annual convention. The convention will take place in person from Sept. 2 to 4 in New Orleans, but also be available to those who wish to attend it virtually. Registration is here.
SPJ/LA designated past president Stephanie Bluestein to serve as a delegate at the convention. In addition, the convention will also feature appearances from some of our chapter’s leadership.
Board president David Zahniser, who writes for the Los Angeles Times, will appear on the panel “How to Find Source and Stories.” Meanwhile, SPJ/LA vice president Ashanti Blaize-Hopkins, associate professor of journalism at Santa Monica College, will be a presenter for the session “Turning a News Story into a Book.”
Our chapter is encouraging journalists to fill out a survey being circulated by PEN America on the impact of disinformation on reporters, editors, and news organizations. PEN America plans to analyze the results and come up with recommendations for how newsrooms can respond to and defend against misinformation. Here’s the survey.
A bit more from National . . .
Congratulations are in order . . .
Lori Streifler, one of our chapter’s associate board members, was recently elevated to the position of president of City News Service, Southern California’s wire service. Mariel Garza, a former SPJ/LA board president, was recently named deputy editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times. And SPJ board member Frank Mottek has taken his program “Mottek on Money” to KABC 790 AM. Way to go Lori, Mariel and Frank!
Finally . . .
SPJ/LA typically goes dark in August, taking a much deserved summer break, and our newsletter will do the same. So we’ll see everyone again in September. And as always, please remember my three-word message about SPJ/LA membership: Please join us!
If you already belong to SPJ/LA, thank you for your support. If you don’t, learn about our chapter here and please consider joining. If you have questions, please contact me at navidnonahalspjla@gmail.com.
Please follow SPJ/LA on Twitter and join us on Facebook.
Believe and stay safe!
Navid Nonahal
Membership Committee Chair
SPJ/LA