Los Angeles Press Club Archive of Meetings

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Understanding The Civil Justice System: Media Education Seminar

Civil Justice Panel at Los Angeles Press Club from Rouslan Ovtcharov on Vimeo.

Media Seminar: Civil Justice System (Part 2) from Rouslan Ovtcharov on Vimeo.

Media Seminar: Civil Justice System from Rouslan Ovtcharov on Vimeo.

Understanding the Civil Justice System

PURPOSE: To educate members of the media about the American civil justice system, utilizing fast-paced presentations in a balanced and informative setting. The seminar will provide working media with background on the civil justice system, the differences between a civil and criminal trial and tips on how to cover a civil trial.

DATE: Saturday, January 31, 2009

TIME: 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast and Registration
9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. Seminar (including lunch)
LOCATION: Steve Allen Theater (Los Angeles Press Club)
4773 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027

PRESENTING ENTITIES: Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles (CAALA) and the
Los Angeles Press Club

ADMISSION: There will be no charge for participation.

FORMAT: The morning session features brief presentations by a panel of prominent legal professionals (law professor, plaintiff and defense attorneys and a judge) providing an overview of the civil justice system and civil trials. The afternoon session features a hands-on panel discussion about how to cover civil trials and civil justice cases, featuring media members who have covered civil trials along with the Los Angeles Superior Court Public Information Officer, plaintiffs’ and defense attorneys and a judge.

PRESENTERS:

MORNING SESSION
Moderator: Jon Beaupre, Radio and TV journalist, Professor of Communication Studies, Cal State University Los Angeles, Member, L.A. Press Club Board of Directors

Judge Hon. Joe Hilberman Los Angeles Superior Court

Plaintiffs’ Attorney Randy McMurray, Managing Partner, The Cochran Firm President, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles

Defense Attorney Phillip Baker, Partner, Baker, Keener & Nahra LLP, Past President, Association of Southern California Defense Counsel

Law Professor Robert Brain, Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Loyola Law School

AFTERNOON SESSION ROUNDTABLE

Moderator: Jon Regardie, Executive Editor at Los Angeles Downtown News

Panelists: Hon. Lee Edmon, Assistant Presiding Judge, Los Angeles Superior Court Patty Kinaga, Principal, Kinaga Porcaro Allan Parachini, Public Information Officer, Los Angeles Superior Court Amy Fisch Solomon, Partner, Girardi & Keese, 2008 President, Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles Frank Stoltze, reporter, KPCC-FM

TOPICS: Morning Session Panel (9:00-11:30 a.m.)

Understanding the Civil Justice System Welcome and introduction (Beaupre)
Civil Justice System Overview (Prof. Brain)
Trial ABCs (Judge Hilberman)
The Plaintiff’s Side (McMurray)
The Defense Side (Baker)
Q&A

Afternoon Session Panel (12:30-2:00 p.m.)

Covering a Civil Trial
Roundtable Panel Discussion
Q&A
Conclusion and Summary

Friday, January 16, 2009

LA Press Club Evening with NBC News White House Correspondent, Political Director and On-Air Analyst, Chuck Todd

Press Club Board Member and L.A. Weekly News Editor, Jill Stewart, will be moderating this special event tonight

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Press Club is hosting a special event tonight with NBC News White House Correspondent, Political Director and On-Air Analyst, Chuck Todd. It is being co-sponsored by PR Newswire and open to the public.

WHO - The Los Angeles Press Club Members and Supporters; Moderated by Press Club Board Member and L.A. Weekly News Editor, Jill Stewart; Special guest Chuck Todd, NBC News White House Correspondent, Political Director and On-Air Analyst

WHAT - "An Evening with NBC's Chuck Todd"

WHEN - Friday, January 16, 2009; 7 p.m.

WHERE - The Steve Allen Theater at the LA Press Club; 4773 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 90027; Plenty of free parking behind the building (enter off of Berendo Street); Metro: Red line, Sunset/Vermont station

WHY - Todd is co-author of the new book "How Barack Obama Won: A State-by-State Guide to the Historic 2008 Presidential Election." He is expected to talk about his book, the recent presidential race, the Obama presidency and how he plans to cover it. As NBC News' Political Director, Todd set himself apart from others through his insightful analysis during the presidential race and in the process developed a loyal band of viewers -- known as "Chuckolytes." Before joining NBC News, Todd was the Editor-in-Chief of National Journal's "The Hotline," Washington's premier daily briefing on American Politics.

FYI - Free to Press Club members: $15 for prepaid guests or $20 at the door. Students pay $5. Ticket price includes all drinks and appetizers. For more information, call 323.669.8081 or email info@lapressclub.org.

The Los Angeles Press Club stands as an organization devoted to improving the spirit of journalism and journalists, raising the industry's standards, strengthening its integrity and improving its reputation all for the benefit of the community at large. Serving the Southland since 1913, it is the only Southern California journalism group that speaks for all journalists working for daily and weekly newspapers, radio & TV, magazines, documentary films and online. For more information, go to www.LAPressclub.org and/or www.myspace.com/lapressclub.

PR Newswire, co-sponsor for all Los Angeles Press Club events, is the global leader in news and information distribution services for professional communicators. For more information, go to www.PRNewswire.com.

Headington Media Group is a boutique communications firm that promotes public affairs in Southern California, specializing in image management, branding, messaging and public relations. For more information, go to www.HeadingtonMedia.com and/or visit www.HeadingtonMediaCenter.org.

Publicist: Edward Headington
Video by: Rouslan Ovtcharov

Thursday, December 11, 2008

The Spin & the Spun: True Tales From The Oscar Campaign Trail

The Spin & The Spun: True Tales From The Oscar Campaign Trail from Rouslan Ovtcharov on Vimeo.

LOCATION:
Los Angeles Press Club
Thursday, December 11, 2008 from 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM (PT)
4773 Hollywood Boulevard
Los Angeles, California 90027
www.lapressclub.org

THE SPIN & THE SPUN: TRUE TALES FROM THE OSCAR CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The presidential election may be over, but Oscar campaigning is just heating up. Each year high profile, high cost marketing efforts push major movies for Oscars, Golden Globes, SAG Awards and other honors. It is an annual rite for studio marketers, publicists and entertainment journalists, who each have a role, whether it is creating publicity campaigns or providing coverage that can shape a movie’s profile.

In a rare behind the scenes look at how the Hollywood publicity machine works, these members of the media, marketers and publicists share stories about how the big movies of recent years were promoted, as well as how the battle is shaping up for the 2008-2009 awards season, which will culminate with the presentation of the 81st annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2009 in Hollywood.

“If you have ever wondered why certain movies are Oscar contenders and others are not, this panel will provide an insider’s view of how things really work in Hollywood,” says Block, a show business historian and Editor-at-Large, The Hollywood Reporter.

This lively panel discussion will be presented by the Los Angeles Press Club in the Steve Allen Theater on Thursday, December 11, 2008 beginning at 7:30 pm. There will be a networking reception before the event beginning at 6:30 pm and for an hour afterward. Admission is free for Los Angeles Press Club members, non-members pay $10 prepaid in advance or $20 at the door, students pay $3 prepaid or $5 at the door.

"Finally, we're going to hear the real story behind the Oscars," says Los Angeles Press Club President Chris Woodyard. "Veteran Hollywood journalist Alex Ben Block has assembled a top-notch cast of insiders who will dish the dirt on the true story behind the Oscars. Anyone who covers Hollywood or follows the entertainment industry won't want to miss this."
Among those featured on the panel will be Patrick Goldstein, film writer for the Los Angeles Times and author of the column and blog, “The Big Picture;” John Horn, entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times; Mark Pogachefsky, Co-founder and co-president of mPRm Public Relations; and Dennis Rice, a veteran marketing guru and publicity expert who has held high level posts at Miramax, October, Walt Disney and United Artists Pictures.

ABOUT THE PANELISTS:

MODERATOR: ALEX BEN BLOCK is Editor-at-Large for The Hollywood Reporter, Show Business Historian for Hollywood Today and Editor of an upcoming book about blockbuster movies for George Lucas Books. Block was Editor of two Hollywood trades: The Hollywood Reporter, and TelevisionWeek. He served as Associate Editor of Forbes Magazine, Editor-in-Chief of eStar.com and was Executive Director of the L.A. Press Club. He is author of "OUTFOXED: The Inside Story of America's Fourth Television Network," and international best-seller "The Legend of Bruce Lee." Block is frequently heard on radio and TV, and has won a number of journalism honors, including three L.A. Press Club Awards.

PATRICK GOLDSTEIN has been writing for the Los Angeles Times since 1979 and has been on the Calendar staff since 1998. His column, “The Big Picture,” offers news and insight on the currents and underpinnings of the film industry. He also has been a contributing writer to major publications such as Rolling Stone, Esquire, Playboy, Vogue, the Chicago Sun-Times, New York Times Sunday Magazine, and British GQ. He received a master’s degree in English literature in 1976 and a bachelor’s degree in film studies in 1975, both from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

JOHN HORN is a Los Angeles Times staff writer covering the entertainment industry
since 2002. He was previously a senior writer at Newsweek and at Premiere magazine, and the entertainment writer for The Associated Press. He began his journalism career at the Orange County Register , He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied dramatic arts.

MARK POGACHEFSKY is Co-founder and co-president of mPRm Public Relations, which provides guidance for motion picture and corporate clients. He has worked on such movies as Brokeback Mountain, Good Night and Good Luck, Mystic River, 21 Grams, Monster, Memento, Elizabeth, L.A. Confidential, In the Bedroom and Fargo. He founded The Pogachefsky Company in 1992, which was merged into mPRm in 1998.

DENNIS RICE has supervised press, advertising, promotion and awards campaigns for films including The Apostle, Hilary and Jackie, Scary Movie, The Cider House Rules, The Incredibles, The Chronicles of Narnia and Pirates of the Caribbean 1 and 2. He was most recently President of Worldwide Marketing and Publicity for United Artists and was Head of Publicity for Buena Vista Pictures (Disney) . He began his entertainment career at The Walt Disney Studios in 1992 as the head of Marketing for the Buena Vista Home Entertainment Division. In 1998, he shifted into feature films as President of Marketing and Publicity for October Films, a specialty film division of Universal Pictures. He worked for Bob and Harvey Weinstein as President of Marketing at Miramax films for several years where he supervised awards campaigns that resulted in more than 60 Oscar nominations for films such as The Cider House Rules, Bridget Jones' Diary, Chocolat and In the Bedroom.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Will Lewis, KCRW, President
Beth Barrett, Investigative Reporter, Vice President
Jill Stewart, Deputy Editor at LA Weekly, Treasurer
Jane Engle, L.A. Times, Secretary
Diana Ljungaeus, LA Press Club, Executive Director
Theresa Adams, LA Press Club, Executive Assistant
Edward Headington, LA Press Club, Publicist
Carolina Garcia, Executive Editor, L.A. Daily News, Director
Anthea Raymond, Public Radio anchor, producer, Director
Jon Regardie, Executive Editor of Los Angeles Downtown News, Director
Rory Johnston, Freelance Journalist, Director
Fred Mamoun, Producer, NBC4, Director
George White, Multimedia Journalism Consultant, Director
Gry Winther, Norwegian TV Reporter & Documentary Maker, Director
Chris Woodyard, Reporter, USA Today, Director
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Theresa Adams: LA Press Club Executive Assistant, Freelance Journalist. A former insurance investigator, Theresa returned to college to study journalism. As a student at Los Angeles City College (LACC) she was editor in chief of both the newspaper and the magazine. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including a 1st Place Press Club Award for “Best Student News Story.”

She received a degree in journalism and liberal arts from LACC and is currently enrolled in the UCLA Center for Community Colleges Partnership Scholars Program.

She was the first student in the history of the club to be nominated to the board of directors. She has recently elevated her role as volunteer to that of executive assistant. She also does freelance work for The Los Angeles Wave newspaper.
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Beth Barrett: In recent years she was an investigative reporter for the LA Daily News. In addition to getting to cover many big stories, she has gotten to know and appreciate most of the city’s media institutions as well as many editors and reporters, and more recently as a freelancer, a number of independent writers and bloggers. She believes the Press Club continues to be an important organization connecting journalists in an increasingly fragmented industry. Her interest in joining the board stems from her commitment to journalism as well as to volunteerism on behalf of nonprofits.
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Jane Engle: Assistant Travel Editor, Los Angeles Times. As a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in editing and reporting local, national, foreign and travel news, features and photos, plus daily blogging, she offers a broad-based grasp of the business. As a 17-year member of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Assn., she brings insights into minority communities.

She believes an important mission for the club is to reach out to all SoCal journalists and aspiring journalists to help them network, improve their skills, weather our industry’s current upheaval and find new opportunities, and yes, have fun while doing it!
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Carolina Garcia, Executive Editor, Daily News: Joined the paper in April 2008 overseeing coverage of the San Fernando Valley’s many diverse communities. She was the executive editor of The Monterey County Herald and managing editor of the San Antonio Express-News from 1998-2003. Prior to that position, Carolina worked at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for 16 years starting as a columnist writing about the area’s growing Hispanic community. Under her leadership, The Monterey County Herald won the top award for a newspaper in the ’06 California Newspaper Publishers Association Better Newspaper contest in the 25,000 to 75,000-circulation group.

A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Carolina was 2002 president of the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. She is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. She has served as chair of the Small Newspaper Committee and the Diversity Committees of the American Society of Newspaper Editors as well as a judge for the Pulitzer Prizes in journalism. She was recently recognized by the California Chicano News Media Association for career achievement on issues of diversity.
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Edward Headington is the Founder and Managing Partner of Headington Media Group (HMG), a boutique communications firm that works with a number of local nonprofit and public benefit organizations—including the Pat Brown Institute, the Unruh Institute of Politics and Coro Southern California.
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Rory Johnston: a freelance, reporting for City News Service, NPR, KCRW, BBC Radio, The (London) Times, the Irish Times and others. He was formerly Editor of London Radio Service, an associate editor with Reed Business Press and a series editor for Penguin Books, and had a column on technology in (of all places) Vogue.
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Will Lewis, KCRW: has a unique blend of experience in radio/TV news and public affairs, as well as in print media. Recently, he was part of the KCRW management team that helped shape the station as a powerful voice in news, cultural affairs and music, as well as an online leader. He will continue to use his years in building membership in public radio to expanding membership in the Press Club.

In his first term on the board, he helped secure candidates and presenters for the club’s major awards, represented the board at a number of events, helped plan for a new website and successfully urged the board to speak out on freedom of the press issues. He believes Southern California needs a strong Press Club, especially in this critical period where the media landscape is rapidly changing.
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Diana Ljungaeus, is also a foreign correspondent for Swedish media. She runs the day to day business of the press club, produces most club events and has produced or co-produced the annual awards gala for six years running. She has been involved with the club since 1999.

Ljungaeus is an award-winning journalist with a broad background as a reporter, editor, researcher and producer. She has lived and worked in Sweden, England and the USA.

“I want to continue to improve and grow the stature of the press club and make it the most vibrant, exciting organization for journalists in California.”
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Fred Mamoun, Investigative News Journalist at KNBC News for the last seven years and as a television news journalist since 1993 covering many stories exposing corruption, fraud and abuse of power. His stories have led to changes in Federal and State laws and to multimillion-dollar class action lawsuits. Like many of you, he believes in the power of journalism and consider it his responsibility to pave the way for future journalists. That is why he has spent the last two years on the board of the Press Club while teaching journalism part-time at UCLA Extension. “There is a fundamental change happening in every newsroom in America. News organizations are struggling and many newsrooms have cut their staffs in half.” In the “new world of journalism” with the “convergence of media,” it is the role of the Press Club to bring journalists together to prepare for the future.
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Anthea Raymond: She has been part of the Southern California media landscape for a long time. You can hear her now on KCRW radio, LA’s NPR affiliate. You can also learn from Anthea in her Broadcast Journalism class at Santa Monica College. And you can read and comment on her pieces for HuffingtonPost.com.

Anthea has held many senior positions in radio. She was the first Senior Editor at KPCC Radio Pasadena. She was also Executive/Line Producer of “Bloomberg Politically Speaking,” and Show Editor of NPR’s ground-breaking program on race, “News and Notes.” Anthea’s career hardware includes an Emmy nomination, multiple Golden Mike wins, and an LA Press Club Award for Best Multimedia Package.

Anthea served as President of the Los Angeles Press Club from 2006-2007, and has co-produced four Southern California Journalism Awards. She is now on the Board of the Echo Park Recreation Center.
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Jon Regardie, has been working as a journalist in Los Angeles since 1993, and has served as executive editor of Los Angeles Downtown News for the past four years, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the editorial department of the newspaper that serves the heart of the city. A current member of the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Press Club, he also is the editor of The 8-Ball, the Club’s recently revived newsletter. He has won four California Newspaper Publishers Association awards, including two first place prizes in the Columns, Commentary and Criticism category, and was the recipient of an L.A. Press Club first place award for business reporting. He has contributed to numerous local and national publications including Entertainment Weekly, Los Angeles Magazine, Blender, Spin, Budget Living and Maxim.
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Jill Stewart is the deputy editor of the Los Angeles Weekly, the largest alternative weekly newspaper in the Western U.S. Before making the switch to editing, she was a political columnist who regularly appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News. Previous to that, she was a columnist for the now-defunct Buzz magazine and New Times L.A., and for seven years worked as a metro reporter for the Los Angeles Times covering urban affairs, government, poverty and politics. Her work in recent years has been published by L.A. Weekly, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Wired. As a board member of Los Angeles Press Club she has been instrumental in reviving the club and has produced and moderated several of the most well-attended workshops and panel discussions.
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George White, has promoted and organized engagement between media coalitions and the public during his 11 years at the Los Angeles Times and – more recently – over the past 10 years as an independent media consultant and editor at the UCLA Center for Communications and Community.

He wants to help create strategic relationships with other journalism associations, promote more engagement with the public and help generate more diversity within the press club. The benefits are clear: By building stronger bonds with other journalism associations, journalists can better promote good journalism and help ensure transparency in government. By organizing more engagement with the public, journalists can get more community feedback on news coverage and develop new sources of information. By promoting more diversity within the press club, journalists can make our organization stronger and more representative of the journalism community.
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Gry Winther:
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Chris Woodyard, Business Reporter, USA Today. After two years as Press Club president, The Press Club is stronger and offers better events. It’s tried to bring in big names — from a visit by NBC White House correspondent Chuck Todd to a night with longtime Times’ pop music critic Robert Hilburn. The Press Club has worked to reposition itself toward the new realities in journalism and reach out to friends who have lost their jobs. It’s also created the National Entertainment Journalism Awards, entering its third year. Through it all, members have kept their day jobs—Chris as a reporter for USA Today’s Money section and editor of the Drive On blog. He has been a Los Angeles journalist for over two decades.