2013 Diversity Fellowship Winners: Greg Braxton of L.A. Times & Carlos Frias of Palm Beach Post

The Society for Features Journalism has awarded Penny Bender Fuchs Diversity Fellowships to two minority journalists to attend the organization’s 2013 annual conference.Greg Braxton, entertainment reporter at the Los Angeles Times, and Carlos Frias, columnist and features writer at the Palm Beach Post, will receive all-expense paid trips to attend the conference Oct. 9-12 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla.Braxton has been a journalist for 35 years. A graduate of the California State University at Northridge, he started as reporter at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. He moved to the Los Angeles Times, where he has worked since 1982. Braxton has primarily covered television at the L.A. Times since 1992 and has been part of three Pulitzer Prize-winning teams at the paper. He has continually examined the issue of minority representation in film and television and says, "There is much more work to be done in the industry on this front, and I fully intend to keep reporting on it. Participating in this fellowship will help provide me with added perspectives and insights that no doubt will assist me in that endeavor."Frias is a graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville. He has been a staff writer at the Cincinnati Enquirer, the St. Petersburg Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has worked at the Palm Beach Post since 2004, focusing on long-form narrative journalism and previously on special projects in sports. He won the International Latino Book Award for best debut book for "Take Me With You: A Secret Search for Family in a Forbidden Cuba" in 2009 and first-place awards from SFJ for general and specialty features in 2011. Of his job, Frias says, "Features allows us to tell the stories of amazing people in amazing circumstances and ordinary folks in extraordinary times."The Diversity Fellowship offers an opportunity for journalists of color to gain a broader experience in features and underscores SFJ’s commitment to diversity within our newsrooms. Applicants were judged on the quality of their work samples, their interest in features journalism and their commitment to diversity issues. The society’s membership is open to any features writer interested in sharing and learning from a community dedicated to advancing storytelling in our society.