One of the Daily Breeze\u2019s very own is being recognized next week for her years of news coverage in San Pedro.<\/p>\n
Staff writer Donna Littlejohn will receive a Legacy Journalism award on Thursday, March 26 at the San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Women\u2019s History Month Celebration. Four other women will also be honored for their contributions to the community<\/p>\n
\u201cFor more than 30 years, Donna Littlejohn has been San Pedro\u2019s reporter of record,\u201d chamber officials wrote in an announcement. \u201cShe doesn\u2019t just cover San Pedro, she knows San Pedro.\u201d<\/p>\n
Littlejohn has been writing for the Daily Breeze since 1998. But braving hours-long Los Angeles and Long Beach harbor commission meetings to deliver coverage to readers was not new to her. She began her career as a reporter for a string of weekly publications in Culver City, then was hired at the San Pedro News-Pilot in 1981.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve covered San Pedro for many years and have seen many changes,\u201d Littlejohn said.<\/p>\n
She previously earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in political science at Cal State Long Beach.<\/p>\n
At the News-Pilot, Littlejohn wrote features, working her way up to hard news and a beat that included the Los Angeles Unified School District, politics and more. Back then, she added, there were at least a dozen writers in the newsroom covering San Pedro government and the ports \u2014 and even dedicated coverage of Wilmington.<\/p>\n
When the News-Pilot shut down in 1998 after more than 100 years of serving the community, Littlejohn said, she was one of the few reporters transferred to its sister paper, the Daily Breeze, which is now part of the Southern California News Group.<\/p>\n
Those moments were \u201cheadwinds in what was to be the crisis to hit local journalism,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The veteran reporter was surprised to learn she would be honored for her work during Women\u2019s History Month, she said, and wants to shy away from the spotlight.<\/p>\n
But Tom Bray, the senior editor for SCNG\u2019s Los Angeles County publications, said Littlejohn deserves the spotlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonna Littlejohn has been a Daily Breeze stalwart for many years and has consistently covered San Pedro and the ports with focus and sophistication,\u201d he said. \u201cShe richly deserves this honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since beginning her city beat, Littlejohn has \u201cnever stopped showing up for this community,\u201d the chamber\u2019s announcement reads. \u201cShe\u2019s covered the stories that matter the most, with the fairness and integrity San Pedro deserves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Littlejohn lived all around the Los Angeles and South Bay areas before settling in San Pedro, where she currently resides. She grew up in Hollywood and Inglewood, she said, then later lived in Torrance and Long Beach.<\/p>\n
From childhood, Littlejohn said, she realized the importance of news and keeping up with what\u2019s going on locally \u2014 and far away.<\/p>\n
I \u201cgrew up with local news, pretty much,\u201d Littlejohn said. \u201cTwo newspapers were thrown on our front yard every day: the Inglewood Daily News and LA Herald Examiner; one in the morning, the other in the afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, she put pen to paper herself and started producing local news.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I\u2019d grown up in the LA area all my life \u2014 and attended college in Long Beach \u2014 I wasn\u2019t even sure how to get to San Pedro for that first job interview,\u201d Littlejohn said. \u201cBob Beck, the editor of the News-Pilot at the time, told me to just get on the 110 and drive south until it ends.\u201d<\/p>\n
She ultimately found her way, made it \u2014 and hasn\u2019t looked back. Even with the constant shifts of journalism and news outlets, she\u2019s stayed committed to keeping her community informed.<\/p>\n
\u201cSadly, local news is struggling everywhere, many communities no longer even have any coverage as outlets have had to close down,\u201d Littlejohn said. \u201cBut we keep carrying on with an amazing staff of reporters, editors and photographers to whom I\u2019m grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The San Pedro community, meanwhile, will show its gratitude to Littlejohn and her work at the Women\u2019s History Month celebration.<\/p>\n
The other honorees include:<\/p>\n
Olga Chavez, the corporate social responsibility and public relations lead for Marathon Petroleum Corporation. Chavez delivers resources to nonprofits by day, and has also helped build local community from the ground up by personally volunteering, organizing and serving organizations like the Battleship Iowa Museum, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, the Friends of the Rotary Club of Wilmington and the Long Beach Library.
\nDiana Nave, a community leader and environmentalist. Nave is a past president of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, where she worked to beautify Peck Park Canyon through native plant preservation and hosting free monthly nature walks.
\nLucrecia Jacobson, a longtime volunteer with the arts nonprofit Grand Vision Foundation and retired substitute teacher. Jacobson volunteers at performances, mentors students and hosts fundraisers for Warner Grand Theatre, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the LA Harbor, the San Pedro City Ballet and more.
\nLindsay Sochar, entrepreneur advocate and community leader. Sochar, who is also an artist and manager of the Crafted at the Port of Los Angeles artisan market, connects local businesses with resources and opportunities, and organizes creative-driven charitable events and disaster relief efforts.<\/p>\n
Being among the celebrated panel, Littlejohn said, she feels she\u2019s been the voice to amplify the contributions the fellow women have made.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe other nominees are the ones who do the work and make the news,\u201d Littlejohn said. \u201cMy role is just the scribe covering what they do.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you go<\/p>\n
The San Pedro Chamber of Commerce Women\u2019s History Month Celebration will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Dalmatian American Club, 1639 S. Palos Verdes St., in San Pedro. Tickets are $75 for chamber members, $90 for non-members and $1,500 for table sponsors at sanpedrochamber.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the Daily Breeze\u2019s very own is being recognized next week for her years of news coverage…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":229307,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[3415,7,3172,131,133,132,47,137,100,1439,77],"class_list":["post-229306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-awards","tag-california","tag-harbor-area","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-county","tag-news","tag-san-pedro","tag-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}