HFPA Partners with the Los Angeles Times for Inaugural LA Press Freedom Week

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 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 News' 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 Project 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 is included below:

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, 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.

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" and "Dateline NBC" 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.

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.