The Los Angeles Press Club honoured the best of journalism at its 61st Southern California Journalism Awards held at Millennium Biltmore Los Angeles. Over 500 guests convened at the hotel’s Crystal Ballroom for the gala, which recognised top journalists across more than 150 categories.

Top award honourees for the night included actor Mr Henry Winkler for the Bill Rosendahl Public Service Award (for those whose work effects major change in the community), CNN Senior International Correspondent Ms Nima Elbagir who took home the Daniel Pearl Award (for courage and integrity in journalism); and sportscaster and former national footballer Mr Jim Hill for the coveted Joseph M. Quinn Award for Lifetime Achievement, the Press Club’s highest honour.

American actor best known for his role as Fonzie in 1970s sitcom Happy Days, Mr Henry Winkler has been a strong supporter of children with learning disabilities. As a child, he had undiagnosed dyslexia, which caused strained relationships with his parents. Since 2003, he has co-created a series of children’s books with a dyslexic protagonist, based on his own childhood struggles with school, to inspire children who have learning disabilities. The books, which have been published in seven languages, have also been made into a television series in the UK.

Ms Nima Elbagir, who was born in Sudan and currently based in London, was recognised for her reporting from some of the world’s most dangerous regions. She reported on the 2014 Ebola outbreak from within Liberia’s quarantine zones, and was the first international journalist to report from the northern Nigerian village of Chibok, where over 250 schoolgirls were kidnapped by jihadist terrorist group Boko Haram in 2014.

National football legend Mr Jim Hill has played with the San Diego Chargers and Green Bay Packers in the National Football League (NFL) in the 1970s. Since his retirement from the NFL, he has gone into sports reporting, and has become one of nation’s most respected sports anchors.