One of the goals in the Press Club’s strategic plan developed by the board more than two years ago was to broaden membership – and board representation – to include more working journalists, especially from Lee County.
Under the leadership of Bob Orr, Vice President of Administration, the Nominating Committee recommended three working journalists join the board as Governors-at-Large. Chris Cifatte, Delia D’Ambra and Laura Greanias were officially elected at the 2020 Annual Meeting on Dec. 10.
We are so pleased to have these experienced and highly talented journalists offer their journalism expertise and thought leadership as the Press Club continues its journey to become more relevant to members and the local media community.
Chris Cifatte
Chris Cifatte: Since 2002, Chris Cifatte has held a role as evening anchor for WINK News. Previously, he worked at WYFF-TV in Greenville, SC, and WMDT-TV in Salisbury, MD. Prior to his career in journalism, he served as a management and financial consultant in Los Angeles. In 2002, Chris earned an Emmy award for coverage of Dale Earnhardt’s death and has earned various awards through the years for investigative coverage. He was named Lee County’s Big Brother of the Year in 2006. Chris describes his news philosophy with these phrases: “Be honest. Do your homework. Tell people what you know and tell them the parts of the story you don’t know. Understand that each story is important to someone – and do your best to give them what they need from it.” Chris grew up in Norwalk, CT, and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and broadcast journalism from American University, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Press Club note: Chris has been a frequent volunteer panelist for special programs organized by the Press Club for journalism students at FGCU. He is always willing to provide guidance and direction for those seeking careers in journalism.
Delia D’Ambra
Delia D’Ambra: Originally from the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Delia D’Ambra is an investigative journalist who graduated from the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2014. For six years she worked as a general assignment and investigative television news reporter for NBC affiliates in Virginia (NBC-29, Charlottesville) and Florida (NBC-2, Fort Myers). Delia specializes in investigating cold case homicides and unsolved crimes. In January 2018, she created CounterClock Podcast, a true-crime investigative series that focuses on re-examining the unsolved murder and arson of Denise Floylen Johnson. Johnson was murdered inside her childhood home in Kill Devil Hills, NC, in 1997. Delia is currently a podcast producer and host for several Audiochuck Podcast Network shows. (CounterClock, Park Predators, and coming in January 2021, Dark Arenas). Press Club note: Delia was a Press Club Young Journalist Award winner in the broadcast category in 2019.
Laura Greanias
Laura Greanias: Laura Greanias is an editor with 30 years’ experience in newspapers, magazines, books and digital media. She is the Florida investigations editor for the USA TODAY Network, and in 2020 she focused on 2020 election security. She served 15 years at the Los Angeles Times, where she was executive news editor/deputy front-page editor, foreign news editor and morning assignment editor on the city desk. She also was city editor of the Los Angeles Daily News and front-page editor of the Long Beach Press-Telegram. She ran LA School Report, a watchdog news site covering K-12 public education in Los Angeles and California. She has edited more than a dozen fiction and non-fiction books, including New York Times bestsellers and Google books, one of which won the national 2014 Digital Book Award for transmedia in New York. She is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Press Club note: Laura was a panelist for the Press Club’s Virtual Chat with Media Superstars held this past summer.
Please join me in offering congratulations and a welcome to Chris, Delia and Laura!
Virtual board meetings and a board planning session are being scheduled. If you have ideas you’d like to share for Press Club programs and initiatives, or you wish to assist in planning 25th anniversary activities, please reach out to me or one of the Press Club board members.