SPJ/LA thanks sponsors for supporting annual awards banquet
The Society of Professional Journalists Greater Los Angeles Chapter would like to thank the generous sponsors who have stepped up to support the 48th Annual Distinguished Journalist Awards Banquet on October 23.
Southern California News Group, LAist, Paramount, and The LA Times have made it possible for SPJ/LA to host this special gathering, which honors a handful of talented local journalists who have made a significant impact with their work.
These sponsorships will also help support SPJ/LA's six annual student scholarships. These scholarships are just one part of SPJ/LA’s work in support of local journalism, which includes advocating for press freedoms, and our professional development workshops and events.
The awards banquet will be held Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the Castaway Restaurant in Burbank. The event honors and celebrates the outstanding careers of seven local journalists, a journalism educator and two student journalists.
CBS News 60 MINUTES correspondent Bill Whitaker will deliver the evening’s keynote speech. Whitaker is an award-winning journalist who has covered major news stories domestically and globally for CBS News for more than 40 years.
This year’s distinguished journalists are Louis Sahagun, reporter, formerly with the Los Angeles Times; Toni Sciacqua, managing editor, Southern California News Group; H. Susan Henderson, publisher/editor, Mountain Views News; Salvador Duran, national correspondent, Univision; Margaret Carrero, anchor, KNX; Ashley Alvarado, vice president of community engagement, LAist; Francine Orr, photojournalist, formerly with the Los Angeles Times; and Adriana Chavira, journalism advisor, Daniel Pearl Magnet High School.
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 Cebelihle Hlatshwayo, Santa Monica College, and Anne To, California State University, Los Angeles.
The Distinguished Journalist Awards, created in 1976, honor journalists who have achieved an impressive record of accomplishments in print, television, radio, visual and digital media over their careers.