Just Doing My Job: Protecting The Executives vs The Public Interest
"Promoting and Protecting the Interests of the People."
March 3 at 7 p.m. PT via Zoom
Government agencies want their public information officers to get critical information out to the public. But can a PIO’s obligation to the agency run counter to the public good? Our SPJ/LA panel will explore this and other questions.
Moderator Benjamin A. Davis from California State University, Northridge will be joined by City of Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian; FOX 11 anchor Susan Hirasuna; Southern California Public Radio daily news editor Claudia Peschiutta; and El Camino Community College Director of Public Information and Government Relations Kerri Webb.
RSVP for our panel.
Benjamin A. Davis is an Associate Professor of Broadcast & Digital Journalism at California State University Northridge. He graduated from Whittier College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and studied international relations at the University of Copenhagen. He taught journalism for 10-years at Rutgers University and three-years at Florida A&M University.
Lisa Derderian has served as the City of Pasadena Public Information Officer and Emergency Management Coordinator since 2018. Prior to that she worked out of the Pasadena Fire Dept. as the Emergency Manager/Fire PIO since 2003. This past year has been dedicated to COVID relief, response and recovery efforts. Prior to working for the City of Pasadena, Lisa worked for the American Red Cross for seven years.
Susan Hirasuna anchored the weekend news and reported at Fox 11 for more than two decades. Susan’s work has been recognized by the Los Angeles Emmy awards, the Golden Mikes and New England Emmy awards. As an anchor, she’s handled extended coverage of the Route 91 shooting in Las Vegas, the death of Princess Diana and too many wildfires and police pursuits to count. Susan is a longtime member of the Asian American Journalists Association and served on the LA board for years. Currently, she is still active with the chapter as an advisory board member.
Claudia Peschiutta is an award-winning journalist who's been covering news in Southern California for more than two decades. Peschiutta worked as the LA City Hall bureau chief for KNX News Radio and earned a reputation for asking tough questions, holding leaders accountable and standing up for press freedoms. Throughout the pandemic, Peschiutta covered Covid's impacts on LA County and was constantly taking questions from the public and helping people navigate this unprecedented crisis. She is now the daily news editor with Southern California Public Radio.
Kerri Webb was born and raised in the City of Inglewood, a vibrant suburb of Champions within the southwest region Los Angeles County. Kerri served as a Public Information Officer for several public and nonprofit organizations including the City of Inglewood, Crenshaw Christian Center, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and the Los Angeles County Probation Department. Webb became the Director of Public Information and Government Relations for El Camino Community College District in Torrance in 2021, where she previously taught writing and journalism courses as an adjunct professor since 2013.