HOLLYWOOD, CA. Los Angeles Daily News Editor, Ron Kaye, former KCBS political editor, Linda Breakstone, Los Angeles Times’ “Top of the Ticket” editor, Don Frederick, and Santa Monica City Councilmember, Bobby Shriver, will join moderator and show business historian, Alex Ben Block, and a distinguished gathering of Her Ex alumni next week to discuss the paper’s lasting influence. It is affectionately being called “A Return to Corky’s: The Ultimate Herald Examiner Almost-20th Reunion Party.”
For that evening, the Steve Allen Theater on Hollywood Boulevard will take the place of Corky’s, the notorious newspaper bar that was across the street from the Herald Examiner’s Spanish Mission-style building in downtown L.A. for many years—and served as the main watering hole and refuge for much of the staff.
"We’re going to celebrate not only a great newspaper, but a great newspaper bar," says Chris Woodyard of USA Today, who is President of the L.A. Press Club and a former Her Ex reporter. "Both are important pieces of Los Angeles history."
There will be a spirited panel discussion moderated by Block, who is an author, columnist, broadcaster and show business historian. He is former editor of The Hollywood Reporter and TelevisionWeek and an Associate Editor of Forbes, who now writes a column for Hollywood Today (HollywoodToday.net)
“This is a way to recall when L.A. had a second metropolitan newspaper, with a much brasher, bolder attitude, that once was the largest afternoon paper in the country,” says Block. “The Her Ex’s brash style in many ways better reflects the way news is delivered in the cyber world than more conservative old line papers, and so the lively spirit of the paper has lived on.”
Legendary former Her Ex editor James G. “Jim” Bellows is expected to try and attend but is in fragile health, and his participation will depend on his condition at that time. The entire event is dedicated to him, and he will be honored during the program.
It has been 19 years since the Los Angeles Herald Examiner last rolled its presses, ending a Southern California newspaper publishing legacy that dated back to 1871. Since then, former Herald Examiner editorial employees have gone on to top positions at the L.A. Times, the Daily News, television, radio, online and many other places, some now serving in the government they once covered. Now the Her Ex alumni are gathering from around the state, around the country and around the world and all over Southern California.
During the event, there will be an original multi-media presentation featuring historic pictures from the Los Angeles Public Library Collection of Herald Examiner Photos. Many of the images by Herald photographers over the years were donated to the library 19 years ago but have not been seen since. One goal of the evening will be to encourage the preservation of the more than 70,000 photos from the Herald photo collection, and to see funding provided to digitalize them for posterity, according to Block and Woodyard.
The panelists include:
· Ron Kaye, who since August 2005 has been Editor of The Daily News of Los Angeles, after serving as managing editor since 1993. Besides the Her Ex, he has been a reporter and editor at the Associated Press, Newsweek and the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
· Linda Breakstone, who after the Her Ex, was Political Editor of KCBS-TV for eleven years, and before that on air at KABC-TV for five years.
· Don Frederick, who joined the Los Angeles Times in 1989 after the Her Ex folded and has worked in their Washington bureau since 1996, covering everything from the impeachment of President Clinton to 9/11, as well as all of the presidential campaigns. He currently writes for the Top of The Ticket political blog, one of the Times most heavily trafficked web attractions.
· Robert Sargent "Bobby" Shriver III, who is an attorney and City Councilmember in Santa Monica, California, as well as President of an entertainment and philanthropic company. A member of the Kennedy family, Bobby Shriver was hired by Bellows to work at the Her Ex early in his career.
Along with the panelists, distinguished members of the audience will reminisce and discuss the lasting imprint of one of the city’s most colorful newspapers at a time that all newspapers are under the microscope, during a time of change for the media.
The Her Ex Reunion Party on March 13th takes place at the Steve Allen Theater, in a complex that is home to The Los Angeles Press Club. It is located at 4773 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles , CA 90027 (two blocks west of Vermont Ave ). There is free parking behind the building (enter off of Berendo Street); Metro: Red line, Sunset/Vermont station.
The evening begins with a reception and networking starting at 6 p.m.; The tribute to Jim Bellows and program begin at 7:30 p.m.; A Her Ex Reunion Group photo and video immediately following the program. The Spirit of Corky’s bar will remain open until 11 pm. but mercifully there will be no karaoke.
Admission is $20 at the door and $10 if the tickets are purchased in advance. Admission is free for LA Press Club members and anyone who joins the LAPC that night. Ticket buyers can reserve seats using PayPal in advance online or on the phone (non refundable $5 charge applied to admission). RSVP to: rsvp@lapressclub.org or call 323.669.8081.
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