Join Us at Our Mixer Honoring Sandi Gibbons

The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists invites you to join us for a mixer honoring Sandi Gibbons of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. After 24 years with the DA’s Office, Gibbons is retiring on March 31.

Prior to joining the DA’s Office, Gibbons was a reporter for City News Service. She was at the Ambassador Hotel the night Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated, and went on to cover the trials of Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson.

The mixer is free and open to all! Please let us know you’re coming by sending an e-mail to: spjlosangeles@gmail.com

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A Few Photos from the 2013 Awards Banquet

Banquet Awardees (L-R): Beverly White (NBC4), Jean-Paul Jassy (attorney, counsel for SPJ/LA), Sharon Waxman (The Wrap), Jeff Fager (CBS News Chairman and banquet speaker), Marty Sauerzopf (City News Service), Dan Evans (Los Angeles Times community newspapers), Andy Ludlum (KNX 1070 Newsradio, KFWB News Talk 980)

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CBS News Chairman to be 2013 Banquet Speaker

Corrections, UGC and More: Ethical Issues in the Digital Space

By Naomi Ogaldez

Correcting online news reports and verifying user-generated content were among the topics discussed at a recent digital media ethics panel hosted by NBC4 in Burbank.

“Ethical Issues in the Digital Space,” moderated by NBC4 Tech/Social Media Reporter Mekahlo Medina, attracted 45 journalists and public relations professionals on Jan. 16.

“It was billed as a panel discussion but it was really more like a collaborative meeting, with everyone around the table,” said Julie Walmsley, freelance journalist. “It was really a productive conversation among journalists, acknowledging their challenges and sharing practices and protocols.”

The discussion clarified many questions the attendees had about covering breaking news under nail-biting deadlines. … Continue Reading

Ethical Issues in the Digital Space

It’s That Time of the Year Again! Celebrate at Our Holiday Party

McCormick & Schmick’s is on Via Rodeo in Beverly Hills

Join the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists for a festive holiday party in the heart of Beverly Hills. The party includes generously served hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, mini desserts and a no host cash bar. Space is limited.

RSVP now to join your friends, SPJ/LA members, print, online, and broadcast journalists on November 29th in Beverly Hills. … Continue Reading

Two Free Journalism Events for Students and Educators to Consider Attending

For Educators: Friday, October 19
10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

What are the pressing issues for your journalism program? The California Journalism Education Coalition — with the California College Media Association and California State University, Northridge — hosts a forum for journalism educators, advisers and advocates. Share your challenges and successes, and get encouragement and advice from your colleagues and professionals. … Continue Reading

KPCC’s Madeleine Brand to Serve as Mistress of Ceremonies for SPJ/LA’s 36th Annual Distinguished Journalists Awards Dinner

Madeleine Brand, host of the innovative radio news magazine program, The Madeleine Brand Show, will be the mistress of ceremonies at the 36th annual awards banquet on May 8, presented by the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The Madeleine Brand Show, which launched in September 2010 on Southern California Public Radio, 89.3 KPCC, is described as having an original sound that is thought-provoking and intimate. Brand describes it as “a new form of public radio journalism that combines a Morning Edition sensibility—the news and current events—with the sensibilities of Fresh Air and This American Life—the best in story-telling.”

Five local journalists and an attorney will be honored at the event, which will be held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles. The Distinguished Journalist honorees are Bob Pool, staff writer at the Los Angeles Times; Howard Fine, a 10-year veteran of the Los Angeles Business Journal; Bob Moon, senior business correspondent, Marketplace; and Lisa Bartley, investigative producer at ABC7, Eyewitness News. Jesus Sanchez, editor and publisher of The Eastsider LA, is the  recipient of the chapter’s Distinguished Work in New Media Award. Don Zachary, attorney and counsel for RTNA, will receive the chapter’s Freedom of Information Award.

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Panelists Join the Society of Professional Journalists’ ‘Best of the West: 2012 SPJ Spring Conference’

News directors, veteran journalists and new media experts will lead the Society of Professional Journalists’ “Best of the West: 2012 SPJ Spring Conference” on March 30-31 at the Hilton Universal City in Los Angeles.

The latest speakers confirmed to appear will participate in the “Freak Out!” session, which will be focused on how journalists cover traumatic stories and deal with their own feelings about witnessing such events. KNX 1070 business news anchor and immediate past president of the Greater Los Angeles chapter, Frank Mottek, will moderate the discussion. The panelists will be:

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Panel: Open and Closed Doors – Access to the L.A. County Board of Supervisors