The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles

History

Though independently incorporated, the paper was initially distributed in part by the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. The first issue appeared on February 28, 1986. The editor was Gene Lichtenstein, who served until 2000, and the first art director was Katherine Arion, a Romanian-born artist who came to the United States in 1981. After becoming completely independent from the Jewish Federation in 2005, it went through difficulties and its circulation shrank.

Circulation has recovered to 50,000 since then, and the paper has undertaken new initiatives, including expanded internet offerings, live events, a branding and marketing division, JJ Branding, TRIBE magazine, launched in December 2009, and Jewish Insider. The Jewish Journal, like other news media, faced financial pressures (cutting staff positions and salaries during 2009, though since it has resumed growth in both areas), but it strengthened its financial situation in May 2010, when it received commitments from a group of local Jewish philanthropists for additional funding intended to assure its continuing financial viability.

From the mid-nineties, Rob Eshman was the editor-in-chief and publisher of the Journal. He was succeeded by David Suissa in 2017. Contributing writers include Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, Karen Lehrman Bloch, Judea Pearl, Tabby Refael, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback, and Jonathan Kirsch, who also serves as Book Editor. Shmuel Rosner is Senior Political Correspondent.

In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack, the issue of January 16–22, 2015 was renamed "Jewish Hebdo".

In response to some staff members' perception that the paper's focus had shifted to commentary, a group of journalists launched SoCal Jewish News in 2021.

Reputation and content

The Jewish Journal is considered the institutional paper of the Jewish community in Los Angeles.

As of May 2016, the site reported about 4 million unique users per month.

The paper received five Rockower Awards in 2021, and ten Rockower Awards in 2022, including six first places. In 2023, the magazine was awarded 21 Rockower Awards. It received awards from the Los Angeles Press Club in 2005 and 2009.

References

References

1. "Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles".
2. Zonszein, Mairav. "What happened to The Forward?".
3. Quintanilla, Michael. (July 13, 1995). "A Simpson Spin All Their Own Media: Papers Outside the Mainstream Don't Try to Compete with the Big Boys. Instead, They Look for the Angles Their Readers Care About". [[Los Angeles Times]].
4. (July 18, 1995). "The O.J. Story Papers Find Ethnic Angles in Trial". [[Fort Worth Star-Telegram]].
5. Tugend, Tom. (June 29, 2000). "The Lichtenstein Formula for a Jewish Paper".
6. Adler, Shelley. (June 25, 1998). "Art Notes: The Artist Behind Our Cover".
7. Rainey, James. (May 12, 2010). "On the Media: Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles Adapts to Changing Media Market: Niche Journalism and an $800,000 Donation Make Its Future Seem Secure". [[Los Angeles Times]].
8. (30 August 2017). "Rob Eshman, Long-Time Jewish Journal Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, to Leave Post for Writing". The Jewish Link.
9. "Author Page: Rabbi Steven Weil". Jewish Journal.
10. Eshman, Rob. (January 16–22, 2015). "Nous Sommes Charlie: This Week We Are Jewish Hebdo".
11. Roderick, Kevin. (15 January 2015). "This Week the Jewish Journal Is Jewish Hebdo". [[LA Observed]].
12. (30 August 2017). "Rob Eshman, Long-Time Jewish Journal Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, to Leave Post for Writing". The Jewish Link.
13. Lapin, Andrew. (2021-06-14). "New Jewish news site arrives in LA as frustration with Jewish Journal grows".
14. "AJPA - 2021 Competition".
15. "AJPA - 2022 Competition".
16. (July 11, 2023). "2023 Awards (for Work Done in 2022)".
17. See, e.g., [http://lapressclub.org/awards/scja/winners/2009-winners/ 2009 Southern California Journalism Award Winners] {{Webarchive. link. (2010-05-18 and [http://lapressclub.org/awards/scja/winners/2005-winners/ 2005 Southern California Journalism Award Winners] {{Webarchive). link. (2010-05-24 at Los Angeles Press Club [http://lapressclub.org/ official website] {{Webarchive). link. (2010-05-14 (accessed May 11, 2010).)