Four dozen Cal Press members and friends celebrated achievement and received industry updates during the California Press Foundation's 143rd Annual Winter Meeting on Friday, Dec. 4, 2020. The meeting, traditionally staged the first week in December in San Francisco, occurred this last year via Zoom.
(The California Press Foundation held their 143rd Annual Winter Meeting via Zoom last Dec. after the COVID-19 pandemic limited in person gatherings.)
Guest speakers Lauren Gustus, from The Sacramento Bee; Troy Niday, from Sonoma Media Investments; and Richard Karpel, from the Public Notice Resource Center, briefed attendees on funding news, distribution and public notice.
There were two inductions into the California Newspaper Hall of Fame, the presentation of executive of the year and lifetime achievement awards, and the naming of the Mark Twain and Jack Bates award honorees.
The Hall of Fame honors deceased newspaper men and women whose devotion to their responsibilities resulted in substantial contributions to their regions and to the development of California. Two honorees are recognized: one who has been deceased more than 10 years and one who has been deceased less than 10 years.
Kevin Fagan and Barry "The Fish" Melton of the Irish Newsboys added a tuneful touch, and Willie Brown, the former State Assembly speaker and former San Francisco mayor, made a special appearance to receive the Hall of Fame proclamation for Frederick Madison Roberts.
Roberts (1879-1952) was the first Black American elected to the California State Assembly. He served there for 16 years and became known as "dean of the Assembly." Roberts was owner and editor of The New Age Dispatch newspaper (later called New Age) in Los Angeles from 1912 to 1948.
Cheryl Brown, publisher emeritus, Black Voice News, and a former state assemblywoman, presented the proclamation.
Erik Cushman, from Monterey County Weekly, inducted Arthur G. Kunkin into the Hall of Fame. Kunkin (1928-2019) was founder and editor of the Los Angeles Free Press, which was the first and largest underground newspaper of its kind, from 1964 through 1972.
The Mark Twain Award for Journalistic Excellence in California was established in 2010 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the death of Mark Twain. Each year, this Cal Press award goes posthumously to journalists (editors, writers, cartoonists) whose journalistic work — either regional or statewide in nature — challenges the status quo.
Charlie Petit, a veteran reporter, presented the Mark Twain Award to the family of David Perlman, his former San Francisco Chronicle colleague and science writer.
Former executive director of Cal Press and CNPA, Tom Newton, presented the Jack Bates Award to longtime lobbyists Mike Belote and the late John O'Malley. The award recognizes effective leadership in addressing newspaper challenges and assisting journalism education, demonstrating that the best leadership for the newspapers of the future comes from those who understand and appreciate how to take the best of the past and invest it into the future.
John Burns, a Cal Press director, presented the Philip N. McCombs Achievement Award to Cheryl Dell, a former publisher of The Sacramento Bee. This award honors newspaper executives who are no longer fully active in the industry but who have served their communities well for an extended period and have made lasting contributions to the industry.