The Hollywood Foreign Press Assoc

By Alex Avila

California State University Dominguez Hills Film, Television and Media and Journalism students were offered a grant by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), the nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who report on entertainment and host The Golden Globe Awards. The HFPA grants provide ongoing support for CSUDH FTVM and Journalism students with funding towards tuition and projects.

The grant is annually distributed to students by the faculty and campus, after distinguishing themselves for their academic achievements, creative and technical abilities. CSUDH was able to receive $21,500 for the Journalism program, and $60,000 for the Film, TV, Media Program (FVTM).

An additional $5,000 standalone HFPA scholarship will be offered for communication students to apply for in AY 2022-2023.

The 2018-2019 Academic Year was the first year CSUDH was able to get a partnership with the HFPA. “We worked with campus development and applied for the grant and have had a partnership with the HFPA ever since,” said Dr. John Vanderhoef. “This is the fifth year, and this academic year is the first year the Journalism program is being supported by the HFPA.” The money for the programs is directed to the fellowships.

Journalism fellowship members include Lloyd Bravo, Nova Blanco-Rico, Brenda Verano, and Mary Mcfadden. The Journalism fellows created stories for World Press Freedom Day, which was held on April 14. World Press Freedom Day is a day to raise awareness for the importance of freedom of the press and to remind governments to uphold the responsibility of the right to freedom of speech and expression. Each student presented their independent projects on “Newsroom Equity,” including articles, podcasts, and videos, showcasing their abilities to create content across platforms.

May 3 is the official date for World Press Freedom Day, marked by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The CSUDH World Press Freedom Day event was planned and organized by the Society of Independent Student Journalists (SISJ). “It’s open to the public, the campus community, and the surrounding community. The goal is to connect students with professional journalists who are working in the field,” said Dr. Nancy Cheever, former Communications Department Chair and Professor at CSUDH.

The process for receiving the fellowship grant for the Journalism Program involved the HFPA committee reviewing student project proposals

“Student applicants write an essay and applications and, once applications are received, the journalism faculty reviews them,” Dr. Cheever said.

Lloyd Bravo, a graduating senior and Journalism major, was one of this year’s inaugural HFPA fellowships in Journalism. He completed a project involving inequities in film and art critique.

“I had dreams of becoming a film critic like Roger Ebert,” said Bravo. “Ebert didn’t start right out as a film critic, he was assigned to review films. But the HFPA made me interested in doing it. Entertainment writing is a big thing for me.”

Bravo was hesitant in applying for the grant initially but was eventually convinced to apply after encouragement from Associate Professor Dr. Brant Burkey.

“Dr. Burkey would send emails and push me into applying,” Bravo said. “I’m always busy with my son and getting into my head and with so much on my plate, I applied on the last day of the extension. I didn’t think I would get anything, I was very proud of myself.”

Bravo decided on making his project oriented on art critique forthose wanting to become journalists to be