(Universal City, Ca) The Radio & Television News of Southern California trade association hosted its 69th Golden Mike Awards, which was held at the Universal Hilton Hotel.
With its focus on Los Angeles County based law enforcement, RTNA made a surprising move to honor retired Ventura County Sheriff Geoff Dean with the Freedom of Information Award.
The association’s Freedom of Information efforts focuses on “Championing the First Amendment Rights of the Free Press… Our Freedom of Information (FOI) Committee regularly advocates for cameras in the courtroom, facilitates efficient pool coverage of news events, and strives to improve relations between law enforcement (and other government agencies) and working broadcast news operations.”
Dean, a 40 year veteran of the Ventura County Sheriff’s department, retired in 2018. The last week of his career occurred when Thousand Oaks experienced both the Borderline Bar & Grill mass shooting and the Woolsey & Hill Fires which consumed nearly 250,000 acres. As a result of the mass shooting, a Ventura County Sheriff Deputy, Sergeant Ron Helus, was killed in the line of duty.
During one news briefing, Dean was professional but emotional about the loss of a fellow officer expressing his remorse for the Helus family and especially Sgt Helus’ wife, Karen.
The awards dinner was held on January 19, where other winners included:
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gayle Anderson, KTLA
Lifetime Achievement Award: Vic “The Brick” Jacobs, Sport Broadcaster, Fox Sports
Lifetime Achievement Award: Larry Mantle, Radio Host, NPR
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