Jim Boren, former executive editor of The Fresno Bee, received the statewide Champion of Journalism Education Award from California Journalism & Media Affiliates on April 21 in Fresno.
Ed Galdrikian, a retired high school journalism educator and a two-time CJ&MA honoree, presented the award to Boren on March 21 during the national NewsTrain workshop in Fresno. They are pictured above.
“Jim has been involved with scholastic journalism since 1983,” Galdrikian’s nomination said. “He has been a presenter at national, state, regional, and local scholastic journalism conferences and conventions several times. Sometimes he has traveled up to 200 miles to a journalism conference or convention site in order to spend one hour of a Saturday with students, many times with standing-room-only groups.
“Jim has spoken regularly to journalism classes throughout the Central Valley. He has volunteered at an inner-city elementary school helping under-performing students to improve their reading skills. He wrote many editorials on public education issues that confront the Fresno-area population. Regardless of the nature of the issue, he recognizes the importance of students receiving the best possible education.
Boren currently teaches news reporting at CSU Fresno and is executive director of the university’s Institute for Journalism and Public Trust.
Other statewide awards went to high school, community college and university educators. The California Press Foundation provides funding for the award plaques.
