The Greater Los Angeles Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will be awarding its annual scholarships to students pursuing careers in journalism.

Students from Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties who have completed at least their freshman year of college, as well as graduate students from those same counties, are eligible to apply for all scholarships. High school seniors from Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties are eligible to apply for the Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship.

The awards will be announced on or about June 20, 2020.

The financial award will be $2,000 for the following scholarship:

Richard D. Hendrickson Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to an enrolled college student pursuing a career in the field of text/print journalism. Richard D. Hendrickson, Ph.D., was an SPJLA Board Member who had a 40-year career as an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor and was an instructor at Cleveland’s John Carroll University, UCLA Extension and CSUN. ($2,000)

The financial award will be $1,500 for each of the following four scholarships:

Ken Inouye Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to a college journalist of color and is aimed at increasing ethnic diversity in newsrooms. Ken Inouye was a 22-year-old cameraman for the International News Service, covering the Korean War, when he was killed aboard an Army aircraft. ($1,500)

Helen Johnson Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to a college student pursuing broadcast journalism. This award honors the late Helen Johnson, a producer of “Channel 4 News Conference” and an associate producer of “Meet the Press.” ($1,500)

Carl Greenberg Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to a college student pursuing investigative or political reporting. Carl Greenberg was a political reporter at the Los Angeles Times, famed for being singled out by Richard Nixon as the only reporter who covered him “fairly.” ($1,500)

Bill Farr Memorial Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to high school seniors or college students who demonstrate a strong intent to pursue a career in journalism. The award honors the late Bill Farr, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times who sat in county jail for 46 days for refusing to tell a judge which lawyers had violated a gag order during the Charles Manson murder trial. ($1,500)

For more detailed information, visit our website here.

Applications may be submitted either by regular mail or electronically, using universally readable e-mail attachments. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Deadline is midnight, May 6, 2020. 

Click here to download a copy of the application.

Send applications by e-mail to Richard Saxton, Scholarship Committee Chair – [email protected].

The Society of Professional Journalists is the nation’s largest and most broad-based journalism organization, dedicated to promoting high standards of ethical behavior and encouraging the free practice of journalism. Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press. The Greater Los Angeles professional chapter celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.