Fifteen of Northern California's most distinguished editors, publishers, innovators and academics will meet with the public Tuesday, March 17, for "A Conversation About the Chronicle," a forum presented as a public service by the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
The SPJ forum will feature a wide-ranging discussion with hundreds of concerned residents to heighten understanding and discussion about the impact of severe cutbacks in editorial staffing and the threatened closure of the San Francisco Chronicle.
The discussion also will explore whether other papers or emerging media can adequately fill the rapidly widening gap between shrinking editorial resources and the need to inform the public on important civic matters.
The SPJ forum will give citizens a chance to ask questions, offer suggestions and express their feelings about the situation in a unique format designed to reflect the Bay Area's reputation as the world center of innovation.
Confirmed participants include:
- Neil Henry, Dean, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
- Dr. Dina Ibrahim, Director of Broadcast Journalism, San Francisco State University
- Kevin Keane, Executive Editor, Bay Area News Group-East Bay
- Bruce Brugmann, Publisher, San Francisco Bay Guardian
- David Cohn, Founder, Spot.US
- Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig, Editor, The Public Press
- Louis Freedberg, Director, California Media Collaborative
- Carl Hall, Local Rep, California Media Workers Guild
- Martin Reynolds, Editor, Oakland Tribune
- Dr. David Robinson, Senior Lecturer, Haas School of Business
- Owen Rogers, Partner, IDEO
- Ricardo Sandoval, Board President, SPJ Northern California Chapter and Assistant City Editor, Sacramento Bee
- David Weir, Veteran Journalist, BNET
- Tom Murphy, Social Entrepreneur, RedwoodAge.com and Newswire21.org.
City officials are also expected to participate. The co-moderators will be Rose Aguilar and Hana Baba, both from San Francisco public radio station KALW-FM 91.7.
The forum will take place from 5:30-7:30 pm in the Koret Auditorium of the San Francisco Public Library at 100 Larkin St. It will be broadcast live on the Internet over SFGTV's Web site, allowing community members to submit questions before or during the program (email: SPJChron@gmail.com; Twitter #SPJChron). The forum also will be recorded for broadcast on SFGTV and KALW-FM.
(Note to Broadcasters: A mult box will be available for professional broadcasters on a first-come basis.)
Contact: Tom Murphy, SPJ Northern California, 415-924-3364.