Town Hall Forum: “Your Views on Local News”

Community members will have a chance to discuss their views about the local news with a dozen leading figures in journalism, education, business and politics at a town hall meeting produced by the Society of Professional Journalists on Thursday, March 25.

When: 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Where: Koret Auditorium of the main San Francisco Public Library in Civic Center.

How much: Admission is free.

We’ll discuss how the current crisis in the news industry creates opportunities for the public to help shape new kinds of journalism that contribute to a vibrant democracy. The conversation will explore strategies and business models for ensuring robust and reliable news coverage in a changing economic, technological and social environment.

Participants will include:

- Craig Aaron, senior program director, FreePress

- Mark Adkins, president, the San Francisco Chronicle

- David Callaway, editor in chief, MarketWatch.com

- Sandy Close, executive director, New America Media

- Paul Connolly, senior vice president, the TCC Group, manager of the Challenge                   Fund for Journalism

- Ron Dellums, Oakland mayor and former congressman

- Glenn Frankel, Pulitzer Prize-winning Stanford professor and former Washington Post  London Bureau chief

- Lisa Frazier, publisher, Bay Area News Project

- Dr. Dina Ibrahim, assistant professor for Broadcast and Electronic Communications,             San Francisco State

- Pat Kenealy, managing director, IDG Ventures SF

- Barry Parr, media analyst and entrepreneurial publisher, Coastsider.com; and

- Venise Wagner, Journalism Department chair, San Francisco State

Sandip Roy and Hana Baba of public radio station KALW-FM will moderate. The program will be recorded and broadcast by SFGTV, San Francisco’s government channel.