Larry Wilson, a member of the Southern California News Group’s editorial board and former editor of the Pasadena Star-News, is being honored as a Distinguished Journalist by the Los Angeles Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists – among seven local honorees who have made a major mark on coverage and the profession.
“Larry Wilson is the quintessential journalist,” said Frank Pine, executive editor for the Southern California News Group. “He is relentlessly committed to the communities he serves. He is a font of institutional knowledge, a wise and talented editor and a man of great character. We are fortunate to count him as a colleague and a friend.”
Wilson, who grew up in Altadena and was the former longtime editor of the Pasadena Star-News, will be recognized alongside five other local journalists and a First Amendment advocate at the 50th annual awards celebration Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the Castaway Hotel in Burbank.
His career began as a professional journalist as the rock music critic of UC Berkeley’s The Daily Californian — and until recently served on the Board of Directors. While Wilson has notched many milestones over the years, colleagues noted that he’s done some of his best journalism in recent moments. His columns amid the aftermath of the Eaton fire, on his home turf, offered deep perspective on the tragedy of a community he knows so well.
He continues to write a biweekly column for the Southern California News Group, a group of 11 newspapers from Los Angeles to Orange County to the Inland Empire.
Among tenures at other press publications, Wilson is also co-founder of LitFest Pasadena.
Along with Wilson, the other Distinguished Journalist honorees include FOX 11 news anchor Christine Devine; co-founder and executive editor of Golden State, Mariel Garza; ESPN NFL analyst Mina Kimes; Paulette Brown-Hinds, founder of Voice Media Ventures and publisher of Black Voice News; and Gary Kohatsu, former editor of the Gardena Valley News.
The chapter’s Freedom of Information Award will go to Ann Burroughs, president and CEO of the Japanese American National Museum and its National Center for the Preservation of Democracy.
The chapter will recognize the 100th anniversary of La Opinión, the country’s leading Spanish language daily newspaper, as well as two early-career journalists.
Frank Mottek, business news anchor at KABC, will moderate the event gathering and celebrating Los Angeles area journalists from various media outlets.
The event is at the Castaway Burbank, 1250 E. Harvard Road, Burbank, 91501. Tickets, sponsorships and program advertising can be purchased through SPJ/LA’s online store. Banquet proceeds benefit chapter programs, including scholarships, journalism education and Freedom of Information issues.
For more information on SPJ, visit www.spj.org or the L.A. chapter website www.spjla.org, where you can also find a list of past honorees.
Ellen Wang is an intern with the Southern California News Group through a partnership with the Asian American Journalists Association’s Los Angeles Chapter.