Los Angeles:
Later this evening, on behalf of the Los Angeles Police Department
(LAPD) Media Relations Section, Chief Charlie Beck will accept the
Freedom of Information Award from the Radio and Television News
Association of Southern California (RTNA) at the 60th Annual Golden
Mike Awards Dinner to be held at the Hilton Universal City. LAPD is
only the second recipient of the award in RTNA’s history and the
first-ever law enforcement organization.
“We are at a place in our history when the leadership at every level of
the LAPD really understands how important it is to work with the
media,” said Chief Beck. “The media has an immense responsibility to
inform and educate people, and we will continue giving them the access
they need to do the job. I couldn’t be more proud of our Media
Relations Section personnel.”
RTNA President Rebecca Nieto talked about the significance of the award
and why LAPD was selected to receive it. "The Freedom of Information
Award is given to individuals and organizations on special occasions
who have demonstrated exceptional efforts with broadcast reporters to
promote transparency and facilitate news coverage related to their
organizations," she said. “We’ve seen remarkable improvement in
communication between LAPD and broadcast reporters in the last few
years."
Established in 1946, the RTNA’s core mission is to champion the First
Amendment rights of the free press in an effort to improve lines of
communication between news media personnel, law enforcement
organizations and other government agencies.