Society of Professional Journalists Los Angeles
The latest news from SPJ/LA…
Meet our 2025 Distinguished Journalist Awards Honorees
SPJ/LA is proud to announce the honorees for our 49th annual Distinguished Journalist Awards!
Our honorees are: Joanne Griffith, chief content officer, Marketplace; Mark Acosta, metro editor, The Press-Enterprise and the Southern California News Group; Larry Maestas, managing editor, Southern California News Group; Lolita Lopez, investigative reporter, anchor, NBC4; Teresa Watanabe, reporter; Diana Martinez, editor, San Fernando Valley Sun.
The chapter's Freedom of Information award, given to a non-journalist who has helped further the free flow of information and championed freedom of the press, will go to John F. Szabo, City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library.
The chapter will also recognize two students – one from a two-year college and one from a four-year university – who show promise as emerging journalists. This year’s outstanding students are Delilah Brumer, Pierce College, and Lex Wang, University of California, Los Angeles.
Learn more about each honoree by reading their bios here.
Help for journalists
Lost your job? Having financial issues? Help may be available through the 8 Ball Emergency Fund for Journalists. You can also find job opportunities by clicking here.
Awards
Each year SPJ/LA honors journalists who have achieved a record of accomplishments over the course of their career. The chapter also honors two students studying journalism.
Advocacy
SPJ/LA Celebrates Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Signing of Senate Bill 98
Membership
Joining the Greater L.A. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists can help you meet Southern California journalists, learn about the work they do and help the next generation enter this exciting profession.
Scholarships
"Getting the SPJ/LA scholarship meant a lot to me, financially and mentally. Financially because, $1,500 relieves so much pressure when you're broke and working two jobs to get through college. Mentally, it allowed me to think if I'm good enough for a scholarship from a prestigious press organization, that I'm good enough to be in a newsroom someday."
- Angel Carreras, 2016 recipient of the Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship. He is on a fellowship with KCRW-FM.