RAFU SHIMPO (LOS ANGELES) -- The Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, honored Jon Funabiki on February 3 with the Distinguished Service to Journalism Award for his dedication to collaboration, diversity, inclusion and equity in the media.
Funabiki’s career spans journalism, philanthropy and academia. He recently retired from Renaissance Journalism (www.renjournalism.org) at San Francisco State University, which he founded and served as executive director. He joined the University in 2006 to teach and to develop projects that explore promising new forms of journalism and storytelling that serve, strengthen and empower communities. Recent initiatives include the Equity Reporting Project, Michigan Reporting Project, Imperial Valley Youth Storytelling Project and Vietnam Reporting Project.