Julie Patel Liss, associate professor with the Department of Television, Film, and Media Studies (TVFM) at Cal State LA, has been appointed to a statewide advisory board overseeing a new $20 million initiative to support local journalism and civic engagement across California.
A respected journalism scholar, Patel Liss will serve on the Civic Media Program advisory board convened by the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
The program is a public-private partnership funded equally by the state of California and Google and is intended to bolster local newsrooms and strengthen community engagement.
“Local news amplifies community voices, engages people in issues that affect them, and is a critical public good, much like libraries and schools,” said Patel Liss, who resides in Long Beach. “The goals of the Civic Media Program align well with the CSU’s mission to advance knowledge and serve our local communities. As a public university in the heart of Los Angeles, Cal State LA has a responsibility to help strengthen the local news ecosystem and prepare the next generation of journalists.”
At Cal State LA, Patel Liss heads the journalism program and conducts investigative reporting projects with students for local news outlets. She also founded the university’s community news outlet, which reports on rarely covered neighborhoods in East and South Los Angeles.
Cal State LA’s journalism program is housed in the Department of TVFM in the College of Arts and Letters. Through coursework, student media outlets, and collaborations with professional newsrooms, the program prepares students—many from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds—for careers in journalism. In recent years, Cal State LA journalism students have earned more than two dozen awards and honors.
Before joining the university, Patel Liss worked as an investigative reporter at nonprofit news organizations including the Center for Public Integrity and NPR’s Washington, D.C., affiliate, and as a reporter at the South Florida Sun Sentinel and San Jose Mercury News. Her work has earned more than 15 journalism awards and honors.
She also volunteers on several local and statewide boards, including the California College Media Association and the Asian American Journalists Association-Los Angeles.
The advisory board will provide recommendations on the design and implementation of the Civic Media Program, which will begin accepting grant applications this summer, with awards expected to be announced in the fall.
“An informed public is the foundation of a healthy democracy,” said Dee Dee Myers, senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom and director of GO-Biz. “By bringing together distinguished leaders from across the state who care deeply about supporting local journalism, expanding access to trusted information and improving newsroom sustainability, the Civic Media Program will help Californians stay connected to the issues that shape their lives and strengthen their communities.”
Other advisory board members include representatives from the Latino Media Collaborative, Local Independent Online News Publishers, Monterey County Weekly, American Community Media, the Southern California News Group, the Los Angeles Times, the Stanislaus Community Foundation, and California Black Media.
Patel Liss added, “I hope to be a voice on the board for journalism educators, as well as our student journalists and alumni who work in newsrooms around the state. I’m grateful to see Cal State LA represented among these major news publishers and trade groups—and I look forward to the potential impact this program can make on civic engagement and media literacy.”
The advisory board will hold public meetings throughout the year to provide recommendations to GO-Biz on the program. Meetings will be posted on the Civic Media Program webpage.
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California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 22,000 students and has more than 260,000 distinguished alumni.
