The Hollywood Foreign Press Association in partnership with the Los Angeles Times announces first ever LA Press Freedom Week.
LA Press Freedom Week will take place with the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press from September 16-20, 2019 in Los Angeles.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), in partnership with the Los Angeles Times, announced today the inaugural LA Press Freedom Week, taking place September 16-20, 2019 at several venues in Los Angeles, California.
LA Press Freedom Week is a week-long slate of events that will spotlight conversations around the protection of the United States of America’s First Amendment and engage the public and the journalism community in and around Los Angeles. With three anchor events amid a series of satellite ones, leading experts, top journalists including NBC’s Lester Holt, and supporting partners, LA Press Freedom Week will highlight the threats to a free press — and show what we can all do to defend it.
“As a journalist, it’s critical that press freedom is kept at the forefront of our conversation and that we, as a coalition forming LA Press Freedom Week, inspire and engage the public about the value of a free press and the critical purpose journalists serve in our democracy,” said Lorenzo Soria, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
“For the last two years the HFPA used the organization’s on-stage time at the Golden Globe Awards to commit a total of $4 million to organizations like The Committee to Protect Journalists, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, that are focused on the protection of journalists, and the HFPA will continue to support journalistic organizations through our philanthropic efforts. We are proud to work alongside such an esteemed publication as the Los Angeles Times to deepen awareness around the important issues journalists face each day.”
“As a global city and entertainment capital, Los Angeles has a unique opportunity to highlight and amplify the powerful stories that underscore the value of the First Amendment,” said Norman Pearlstine, Executive Editor of the Los Angeles Times and a CPJ board member. “At a time when the press is under attack, we’re pleased to tell the Los Angeles community about the importance of press freedom through this series of events.”
The list of marquee panels:
Monday, Sept. 16, 2019 | Press Freedom and Elections, Paley Center for Media
This year saw elections unfolding around the globe in places like India, South Africa, Guatemala and Tunisia, while in the United States, the primary season began to heat up. This conversation will explore the particular challenges for journalists and threats to press freedom and democracy that emerge around elections both globally and in the United States. Meher Tatna, of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will offer opening remarks in a debate moderated by Ramzi Malouki, an HFPA member who heads the US West Coast Bureau for the French Canal + Group. Click here to RSVP for this event.
Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2019 | Press Freedom and Diversity: Whose Voice Gets Included?, LA Central Library
Who makes the news, and for whom? “NBC Nightly News” anchor Lester Holt will moderate a lively discussion on the question of what diversity means in media—and how it can influence the information we read, hear, watch and share. Los Angeles Times Editor-in-Chief, Norman Pearlstine, presents opening remarks to this conversation. Click here to RSVP for this event.
Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019 | Cross-Border Legal Threats to Press Freedom: The Experience of Documentarians, UCLA School of Law
Panel discussion moderated by Dale Cohen, director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at the UCLA School of Law, featuring documentary filmmakers and legal experts who explore the ways that laws are used to persecute and criminalize journalists who publish government secrets. Lorenzo Soria, President of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, will offer closing remarks. Click here to RSVP for this event.
ICIJ’s Spotlight event:
Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2019 | The Panama Papers Documentary Screening and Discussion, Laemmle Glendale Theater
The Panama Papers documentary goes behind the scenes of this unprecedented, award-winning investigation. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), along with more than 100 media partners, spent a year sifting through 11.5 million leaked files—the Panama Papers—to reveal the offshore links of some of the world’s most powerful figures. Director Alex Winter followed ICIJ and partner journalists from around the world to show how it all got done. Join us for a screening of the film, followed by a Q&A with Winter and Marina Walker Guevara, ICIJ’s deputy director. Click here to RSVP to this event.
For more in-depth coverage, please tune-in to “HFPA in Conversation” podcast for a six-part series on the topic of press freedom.
Additional information and details on the marquee panels and other spotlight events for the week can be found here.
ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FOREIGN PRESS ASSOCIATION
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was founded in 1943 – then known as the Hollywood Foreign Correspondents Association – by a group of entertainment journalists based in Los Angeles. During World War II, the non-profit organization established a cultural bridge between Tinseltown and millions of cinema fans around the world who demanded drama and inspiration through entertainment. The HFPA continues to do so today with a membership representing more than 55 countries. Since 1944, the group has hosted the annual Golden Globe® Awards – the premier ceremony which honors achievements in both television and film. The licensing fees from the Golden Globe® Awards has enabled the organization to donate more than $37.5 million to more than 70 entertainment-related charities, film restoration, scholarship programs and humanitarian efforts over the last 25 years. For more information, please visit www.GoldenGlobes.com and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
ABOUT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
The Los Angeles Times has the largest newsroom west of the Potomac and serves an audience of 4.4 million print and digital readers each week. The Times’ portfolio includes the flagship Los Angeles Times; its Spanish-language companion, LA Times en Español; an entertainment industry and awards specialty publication, The Envelope; a tabloid dedicated to the Southern California real estate market, Hot Property; and a collection of community news publications and lifestyle magazines. The Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism and expertise in storytelling extends beyond its pages: An in-house events team produces more than 90 events each year, including the Festival of Books, Food Bowl, The Taste, Ideas Exchange and a variety of public engagement and pop culture happenings. And the LA Times Studios division produces hit podcasts, such as “Dirty John” and “Man in the Window,” and a daily TV news magazine, “LA Times Today.”
ABOUT THE COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS
The Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal. In our quest for a free media, CPJ denounces press freedom violations, meets with heads of state and high-ranking officials and spearheads or advises on diplomatic efforts. When press freedom violations occur, we mobilize a network of correspondents who report and take action on behalf of those targeted. CPJ also provides comprehensive, life-saving support to journalists and media support staff working around the world through up-to-date safety and security information and rapid response assistance.
ABOUT THE INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is a newsroom and a global network of reporters and media organizations who work together to investigate the most important stories in the world. Our network of trusted members encompasses 249 of the best investigative reporters from more than 90 countries and territories. We also partner with more than 100 media organizations, from the world’s most renowned outlets to small regional nonprofit investigative centers. Drawing on the expertise and reach of our network, we collaborate on groundbreaking investigations that expose the truth and hold the powerful accountable, while also adhering to the highest standards of fairness and accuracy.
ABOUT THE REPORTERS COMMITTEE FOR FREEDOM OF THE PRESS
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press provides pro bono legal representation, amicus curiae support, and other legal resources to protect First Amendment freedoms and the newsgathering rights of journalists.
The Reporters Committee serves news organizations, reporters, editors, documentary filmmakers, media lawyers and many more who use its online resources, like the First Amendment Handbook and the Open Government Guide.
Press contacts
Hollywood Foreign Press Association
Alyssa Furnari / Jamie Kronfeld
Sunshine Sachs
HFPA@SunshineSachs.com
323-822-9300
Los Angeles Times
Hillary Manning
hillary.manning@latimes.com
213-237-2664
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
Caitlin Ginley Sigal
donate@icij.org
+1 240 810 6454