NORWALK - Cerritos College journalism instructor Richard Cameron was honored December 2 for his contributions to California journalism and journalism education by the California Press Association.CalPress, one of the oldest press associations in the country, presented Cameron with its annual Jack Bates Award at its 134th annual winter meeting in San Francisco. Named after the former longtime director of the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the Jack Bates Award was established in 2007 to "effective leadership in addressing newspaper challenges and assisting journalism education-demonstrating that the best leadership for the newspapers of the future comes from those who understand and appreciate how to take the best of the past and invest it into the future." Cameron, who chairs Mass Communication Department and advises the student newspaper Talon Marks at Cerritos College, was nominated by fellow community college journalism instructors from around the state. In addition to serving his own students he, in the words of one of his colleagues, has influenced thousands of community college journalism students around the state with many workshops and services directed at not only his own students, but students and teachers around the state. He has been a guiding force in the introduction of new technologies to journalism education. At Cerritos College Cameron also serves as the college's Curriculum Committee chair and is currently chairing a statewide effort to create a streamlined associate of arts degree in journalism for community college students. Further, he chairs the California Journalism Education Coalition, an umbrella group that brings together representatives of high school, community college, university and industry organizations interested in journalism education to discuss common issues and solutions and to honor outstanding journalism educators. Cameron is one of the longest serving journalism educators in the California community college system and has been teaching at Cerritos College since 1997.

********** Published: December 22, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 36