The Future of News: “In Their Opinion,” a panel of media critics

CLEVELAND: Panelists will discuss the good and the bad in the state of news reporting in Ohio and across the nation, how it can improve, and where news journalism is heading at noon on Thursday, January 18, 2007, at The City Club of Cleveland. Steve FitzGerald, founder of LakewoodBuzz.com, will serve as moderator for this second in a series of four programs.

In Their Opinion presents three notable independent journalists, who for years have been observing and critiquing how mainstream news media do their jobs of informing the public.

Panelists are as follows:

·         Jen Angel, co-editor and publisher of “Clamor” magazine

·         Roldo Baltimole, Hall of Fame journalist and muckraker

·         Chas Rich, independent journalist-blogger of Sardonic Views, NEO Babble, and AOL

The Future of News Media is a four-part series, in partnership with the Society of Professional Journalists, Cleveland Chapter, that explores the changing state of mainstream media’s approach to delivering the news, how the public and journalists are responding to the news evolution, implications of media ownership, regulation and technologies for an informed democracy, and what media critics like and dislike about local news. Series participants will also attempt to predict the future of news and how consumers will want and use it.

Future programs include Media Ownership and the Implications for Democracy (February 15, 2007) and In Their Words: Teens as Media Consumers and Predictors (March 15, 2007).

Tickets for this City Club Special Program are $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Lunch is included. Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance of the event. They can be purchased by calling The City Club at 216.621.0082 or visiting the website at www.cityclub.org.

NOTE: The Friday Forum that had scheduled Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher on Jan. 12, 2007 at the City Club of Cleveland has been cancelled.