Four journalists with deep roots in the Coachella Valley are about to get their names etched into local media history. The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation has announced that Joan Behrmann, Héctor Félix Sr., Brad Fuhr and Thalia Hayden will be inducted into the Coachella Valley Media Hall of Fame in January, with Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein set to deliver the keynote address.
The foundation says the induction luncheon will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on January 25, 2027, at the Omni Rancho Las Palmas Resort and Spa, located at 41000 Bob Hope Drive in Rancho Mirage, according to MyNewsLA.com. Admission costs $250 per person, and tickets and additional information are available at cvjf.org. All proceeds support local newsrooms through the nonprofit foundation's grantmaking, according to cvjf.org.
Bernstein, an investigative journalist and author, won a Pulitzer Prize in 1973 alongside Bob Woodward for exposing the Watergate scandal, per the same account from the foundation. Emceeing the event will be NBC Palm Springs anchor Olivia Sandusky, who was named the foundation's Journalist of the Year in 2025.
Who Is Being Inducted
Joan Behrmann will be inducted posthumously. She was the first female executive editor of The Desert Sun and a founding editor of USA TODAY, per the foundation's account. Héctor Félix Sr. founded El Informador del Valle in 1988, a Spanish-language newspaper that has served eastern Riverside County residents ever since, the foundation notes.
Brad Fuhr founded Gay Desert Guide, a media company serving the LGBT community, and owns several radio stations, including KGAY 103.1, according to the foundation. Thalia Hayden has anchored NBC Palm Springs' morning newscast since joining the station in 2012, the foundation's profile states.
A Young Tradition Honoring Local Media
The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation first announced plans for the Hall of Fame in December 2023. The inaugural inductions, held February 28, 2024, at Thunderbird Country Club in Rancho Mirage, recognized former Desert Sun reporter Bruce Fessier, KESQ anchor Karen Devine, and Palm Springs Life publishers Milton and Frank Jones, as reported by The Desert Sun.
The 2025 class, inducted a year later, included John White, Laurilie Jackson, Adolfo Íñiguez Lomelí and Gloria Greer, according to a separate MyNewsLA.com report. That ceremony drew a sold-out crowd of 250, The Desert Sun reported at the time, and featured remarks from former New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet about a newsroom partnership initiative reaching into the Coachella Valley.
Foundation's Broader Mission
The Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation was formed in 2020 and raises money to help fund local journalism, The Desert Sun has reported. The foundation says it will induct three to five people each year as part of its stated mission to promote and support sustainable community journalism in the Coachella Valley.
