The Los Angeles City Council, headed by councilmember Bill Rosendahl and many prominent Los Angeles political and journalistic figures, celebrated senior scholar Ed Guthman's (pictured, above and below left) lifetime of public service on Dec. 14 at Los Angeles City Hall.
Guthman, a Pulitzer Prize winner and former press secretary to Robert F. Kennedy (pictured, below right), was president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission as well as a member of the independent panel that reviewed the U.S. Treasury Department’s investigation of the federal assault on the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, in 1993. 
"I wanted to be here to represent that group of public servants that Ed has inspired through his work on the ethics commission over the years," Los Angeles Ethics Commission executive director LeeAnn Pelham said. "Ed was there at the beginning to help make sure we were asking the tough questions, he was there at the beginning to make sure we were looking for the answers and treating everything we saw fairly but firmly."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa said Guthman has an amazing resume that is much too long to list, and that he did a tremendous job representing the public on the Ethics Commission.
"And if that wasn’t enough, Mr. Guthman continued his service by giving back to the country and the city of Los Angeles by teaching young people the craft of journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism," Villaraigosa said. "So it’s my honor to join councilmember Rosendahl in recognizing a truly great man, a great American – Mr. Edwin Guthman."
Former USC Annenberg Dean Geoffrey Cowan called Guthman one of the treasures of the nation and city, listing some of his many accomplishments throughout his career.
"I want to speak about Ed’s importance to a whole different generation," Cowan said. "And that is the generation of young people who’ve been inspired by Ed day after day as a journalism teacher who believes in the highest ethics of journalism, who believes deeply in investigative journalism – but only investigative journalism that is fair."
"There was no question in my mind that Ed Guthman would be a terrific appointee to the city ethics commission for one reason in particular," former Los Angeles controller Rick Tuttle said. "And that is the adjective ascribed to Ed Guthman’s name, and that is ‘integrity.’”
Guthman is the former national editor of the Los Angeles Times and editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer. When he retired from the Inquirer in 1987, it made front-page news.
"Ed exemplified what a reporter is all about," said adjunct journalism professor Bill Boyarsky, who worked under Guthman at the Los Angeles Times. "He had great integrity — as was said. He had a sense of social justice. But most important, he had an utter determination to get the story, which he did and insisted upon as an editor."
Boyarsky said Guthman was never satisfied as an editor until the reporters got the story.
"He didn’t do it in a mean way or an oppressive way — he did it like a great coach," Boyarsky said. "He inspired his reporters to work. And so he was a mentor, friend, and a role model and great journalist."
Guthman's daughter, Diane, read a letter from Senator Ted Kennedy.
"You’ve been a cherished friend to all of the Kennedys for longer than I can remember," Kennedy wrote. "In those early days at the Justice Department, on Bobby’s Senate campaign, and later at the RFK Memorial – you’ve always been there with your good judgment, unflappable presence and trademark smile."
Said Dolores Huerta, co-founder and first vice president emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America: "What really makes me want to stand here and salute Ed Guthman is that this man has really continued his entire life to fight for social justice. And he continues the legacy of social justice and political integrity – that legacy that was left to all of us by Robert F. Kennedy and by Caesar Chavez."
Watch the presentation ("Jump to" the second PRESENTATIONS option)
Invitation
Bill Boyarsky's blog entry
