Degree(s): BJ ’84

Whereabouts: California, Los Angeles

What do you do?

I am the publisher and editor-in-chief or the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News in Los Angeles. I was named “Print Journalist of the year by the Los Angeles Press Club for the Southern California Journalism Awards in June, 2023.

I am pasting the application I submitted for the award here, which outlines “what I do.”

I have been the publisher and editor-in-chief of the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News for 33 years. Under my tenure, the newspapers have become a beacon of community news in the Miracle Mile, Beverly Grove, West Hollywood, Carthay Circle, Beverly Hills, Larchmont, Hancock Park and Bel Air neighborhoods.

We report on hard news, local politics, business, entertainment and the arts consistently every week. From in-depth interviews with Mayor Karen Bass and Rick Caruso, to profiles of Los Angeles chefs like Nancy Silverton, and comprehensive coverage of three city councils: Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News deliver the news that is most important and relevant to the citizens of these communities. We also cover three different police departments: Los Angeles Police Department, Beverly Hills Police Department and West Hollywood Sherrif’s Station. Under my leadership, we have transformed the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News into the go-to source for reliable news and unbiased coverage.

Managing three full-time reporters, three columnists and additional contributing writers, I lead our team every week to publishing 24-36 pages filled with up to 70 news items, which then populate our website. I read and edit every bylined story, every article and every headline. It is my duty to ensure the Beverly Press produces the best possible issue every week.

With a print circulation of 15,000, delivered with the Los Angeles Times to paid subscribers, and by independent carrier to further saturate the 15 zip codes we serve, the Beverly Press and Park Labrea News have a very loyal readership – since 1946.

In addition, our website has realized over 600,000 users and maintains weekly page views of 45-50,000. The website is updated daily with breaking news.

We have been recognized by the Los Angeles City Council, the Beverly Hills City Council, West Hollywood City Council, (in 2016, 2020, 2021) and were named small business of the year by the CA Assembly in 2010. We have been read into the Congressional Record by U.S. Representative Henry Waxman.

While these accolades did not occur in 2022, they are accomplishments of which I am very proud.

The Beverly Press and Park Labrea News publishes every Thursday. Annually, we publish a magazine “Our People, Our Places” which published in September 2022. I am submitting several issues of the newspapers and the magazine to illustrate the depth and range of our superior journalism.

Being a journalist has been my life’s work.

I am driven by the singular goal of providing our communities with unbiased, honest reporting- covering quality of life issues that readers won’t read in other newspapers. We’re not “gotcha” journalism – we are a community trust, where readers can feel confident they are getting accurate and comprehensive news. It is my commitment to fulfill that responsibility every single day.

How did you get your job?

In 1990, after working at the Los Angeles Daily News, my husband and I purchased the Park Labrea News, which has published since 1946. I got the job at the Daily News through the MU Journalism School. During Journalism Week in 1984, the J-School asked the Advertising Director to visit and interview students. I got the job and was hired the day after graduation in 1984.

I met my husband, Michael Villalpando, at the Daily News. We got married in 1988 and a year and a half later took a 2nd mortgage on our house and bought the newspaper. Now, 33 years later, we received the top accolades at the LA Press Club awards.

What is the best professional lesson you learned at the J-School?

Trust your instincts. Practice AP Style everyday. Be tenacious.

What advice do you have for current students?

See above.

And be humble – there is so much more to learn after you graduate!

What is your favorite J-School memory?

I was in the advertising sequence, as it was called at the time. My professor, Russ Doerner, who was an ad executive who left the agency world to teach at the university, taught me so much about good copy writing. I’ll never forget getting my first A on an assignment from him – he was very tough. He told me I had too much personality to sit behind a desk everyday churning out ad copy – for $12,000 a year. He said, “Go be an ad salesperson.” So I applied for the job at the Daily News, got it, moved to LA 2 weeks after graduation, and made $27,000 my first year. (seemed like a lot at the time!) Had I not followed his advice, I would not have moved to L.A., met my husband and then purchase this newspaper. I used my Journalism degree from day 1 and continue to practice those skills every day. We’ve had a very successful life as publishers, which culminated in the Print Journalist of the Year award.

Additional Comments

In all my years of running the newspaper, I have never sent in an “update” to the Journalism School. Thanks for taking the time to read this.

And I’m always in the market for a good reporter!