Gary Metzker

Gary Metzker has been a fulltime lecturer at Long Beach State since 2008 and an adjunct professor at Mt. San Antonio College, Los Angeles Mission College, East Los Angeles College, Long Beach City College, Orange Coast College, Coastline Community College, Golden West College, El Camino College, Moorpark College and Chapman University. Metzker is design adviser for Long Beach State’s Pacemaker and Pinnacle Award-winning Daily 49er and Dig Magazine.  

He received his Bachelor of Journalism degree in 1976 from the University of Missouri and his master’s in communications in 2013 from California State University Fullerton. For almost 25 years, he worked at the Los Angeles Times in positions ranging from sports news editor, metro news editor, A1 editor and Senior Editor. 

During that time, Metzker was a member of four Pulitzer Prize-winning staff awards for breaking and spot news. Metzker has also won 12 Los Angeles Press Club awards and two Medals of Excellence from the Society for News Design. 

In 2022, Metzker was selected to be in the inaugural class of the Associated College Press’ Pioneers of Journalism award. In 2021, he was selected by the Journalism Education Association as its Friend of Scholastic Journalism award winner. In 2019, he was selected as the Champion of Journalism Education Award winner by the California Journalism and Media Affiliates. In 2013, Metzker was selected Journalism Educator of the Year by the California Journalism Education Coalition. Metzker has presented seminars and workshops for the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, California College Media Association, College Media Association, Associated Collegiate Press and the Journalism Education Association. He is the outreach chairman for the Department of Journalism and Public Relations, working with high school newspaper staffs in Los Angeles and Orange counties and he instructs at ACP’s mid-summer journalism boot camp. He is on the journalism board for Mt. San Antonio College, El Camino College and Cerritos College as well as the Southern California Journalism Education Association. He is currently the president of the California College Media Association.