The Board of Directors sent the following letter to Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) in support of SB 1327 on May 21, 2024.

Dear Senator Min,

We strongly encourage you to support the proposed local news employment credits, which could truly revitalize community news in California. It could dramatically improve the capacity of newsrooms to cover their communities, and is especially attentive to the role of medium- and small-sized outlets, whose survival is most at risk.

As publishers of news in Orange County, we appreciate that the newsroom support approach in the SB 1327 recognizes the numerous nuances in business operations of for-profits and non-profits, urban and rural, and for those both employing full-time staff and rosters of freelancers.

It’s important to understand why supporting local journalism employment is fundamental to the future of local news in California.

In California, since 2004, we have lost an astounding 68% of journalists, as well as 25 percent of our newspapers. Total news circulation has dropped more than 50 percent.

Much research, and commonsense, tells us that communities poor in news see far less public engagement, lower voting and reduced civil debate. Strong local news is as much a public good as are our schools, libraries and hospitals – and integral to the success of all those institutions.

To the end of reversing that decline, we believe the use of employment tax credits will be transformative.

Importantly, the proposed credits keep the state out of the business of picking winners or losers, comfortably compatible with the First Amendment and the need to protect the editorial independence of news outlets. Simply, news operations that maintain and grow their journalism workforces get help in doing so, as market conditions challenge long-used business models.

In addition, we believe the framework supports innovation to come as well, by opening space for publishers to enter new markets and better serve communities of all kinds.

The distribution of funding to news outlets is one we hope California can join in providing model leadership, joining similar laws, one recently passed in New York State and another last year in Canada.

While we understand that there is more legislative debate and discussion to come in this area, including how such funding can best be financed, we underline our support for the instrument of payroll tax credits – best delineated in SB 1327.

Sincerely,

The Orange County Press Club

Dear Supervisor Andrew Do, 

We are writing to express our disappointment in using your position as a public official on Wednesday, Dec. 20 to call for the firing of LAist reporter Nick Gerda, over his reporting on your  approval of awarding public dollars to a nonprofit run by your daughter.

As the OC Register Editorial Board has now shown, your statement uses a minor technical glitch in one of the nonprofit filings to falsely claim that Gerda forged the document.

Journalists would not be doing their job if they did not constantly call attention to suspect public contractor relationships such as yours.

Your comments are a disservice to not only the journalists who watch dog the county, but also to the public you were elected to serve. 

We expect more from our public officials, and seriously urge you to apologize.

Respectfully,

The Orange County Press Club Board of Directors

Brandon Pho

Daniel Langhorne

Caitlin Antonios

Kathy Hobstetter

David Young

Patty Marsters

Breeana Greenberg

Jackie Moe

Clara Beard

Andrew Turner

Spencer Grant

Dear Members,

The Orange County Press Club Board of Directors is following claims that private security guards hired by the Orange Unified School District attempted to corral Voice of OC, Southern California News Group and freelance photographers into a press pen during a public meeting on Sept. 7.

After speaking with two photojournalists who were harassed in the course of their work, the Board feels it prudent to remind our members that state and federal case law is on their side in these types of situations involving a “designated press area” at public proceedings. We believe arming reporters and photographers with information about their rights is the best defense against this bad behavior.

From the Reporters Committee For Freedom of the Press: Cal. Gov’t Code § 54950 As stated by one court, “it is clearly the public policy of this State that the proceedings of public agencies, and the conduct of the public’s business, shall take place at open meetings, and that the deliberative process by which decisions related to the public’s business shall be conducted in full view of the public.”

Journalists are and should be treated just like members of the public. Sequestering people based on their occupation is a slippery slope.

The Board has discussed next steps to educate OUSD officials and the public that we will not tolerate further infringement of press freedoms in Orange County.

Best Regards,

The 2022-23 Orange County Press Club Board of Directors

Dear Members,

It’s election season, and an opportunity to bring your voice to the Orange County Press Club Board of Directors.

Voting will happen in the last week of September, but starting now you can add your name as a candidate.

Candidates are asked to email [email protected] with their name, employer/news organization, a short bio and candidate statement (laying out your ideas, values, or anything you think might connect with voters) by Sept. 22.

All candidates must be current on membership dues: $25 for journalists and $50 for PR professionals/non-journalists.

On top of planning the Press Club’s annual awards gala, board members also host networking and informational events throughout the year for members. The volunteer board works alongside groups throughout California to advocate for press freedom and other issues important to journalists in Orange County. The Board also stewards the next generation of journalists by sponsoring scholarships and fellowships for high school and college students.

The Press Club is looking for journalists from across a variety of mediums, publications and backgrounds to help further this mission. Freelancers and journalism educators are welcome to enter.

Please send any questions about the process to [email protected].

Best Regards,

Brandon Pho
Vice President, 2022-23 Orange County Press Club Board of Directors

Former Orange County Register staff photographer Bill Alkofer died in St. Paul, Minn., after a years-long fight with ALS on June 23.

Theresa Walker, a retired Register staff writer, shared the news about Alkofer on a Facebook group of the newspaper’s alumni. Her post has turned into a memorial with dozens of comments from Alkofer’s colleagues.

“Mindy Schauer and I visited Bill this past week at the assisted living center in St. Paul where he had been living. We reminisced, we laughed, we cursed, we talked about death, we drank several of the beers (Grain Belt) in Bill’s fridge and even got him to take a few sips with a straw,” Walker wrote.

Alkofer was born and raised in North Dakota. He received a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota in 1985. Alkofer worked for 40 years as a photojournalist, including stints at Pioneer Press and the Register. He photographed popes, presidents and kings, two Olympics, a Super Bowl, a World Series and four Final Fours.

The Orange County Press Club Board of Directors extends its sincere condolences to his devoted family and friends. He was a consummate professional who went above and beyond to make the best photo possible.

Details about a memorial service haven’t been announced.

Bill Alkofer at his October 2021 “awake wake” with Mindy Schauer, Alma Fausto, Ian Wheeler, Jeff Gritchen and Greg Mellen in Minneapolis. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Gritchen)

The Orange County Press Club Board of Directors is honored to posthumously recognize Fred Swegles with the 2023 Sky Dunlap Award at the 2023 Excellence in Journalism Awards at 6 p.m. on June 15 at Anaheim Hills Golf Course.

The Press Club’s highest honor will be announced in conjunction with our “In Memorium” presentation of recently deceased journalists, which also includes nationally-recognized baseball writer Jean Hastings Ardell and Los Angeles Times reporter Greg Yee.

A longtime Orange County newsman who spent his career covering San Clemente and its neighboring towns, Swegles died on Oct. 23, 2022, after suffering health complications because of a brain tumor. He was 74.

Swegles’ portfolio of work spanned more than 50 years, having previously reported for the Daily Sun-Post and Orange County Register. In 2018, Swegles launched his CoastLines column with San Clemente Times.

“Fred Swegles is an institution in Orange County journalism. His tireless efforts over five decades to cover his beloved hometown of San Clemente are a testament to the impact one journalist can have on their readers. Our board’s decision to honor Fred was unanimous and we sincerely wish it had arrived before his passing,” said Daniel Langhorne, president of Orange County Press Club.

The Sky Dunlap Award is given out at the Press Club’s annual awards gala and honors someone for lifetime achievement and community service in Orange County journalism. It is named for John William “Sky” Dunlap, 1912-68, who owned and published the Globe, an independent newspaper.