Chicago panel to discuss watchdog journalism

Join top Chicago news pros for tough talk about watchdog journalism and the fight for survival in America's most celebrated muckraking town. To hear the strategies, the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association has called together some of the most prominent editors and writers in Chicago for a forum at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, at the Union League Club, 65 West Jackson Blvd.

The panelists include:

• James O'Shea, co-founder of the Chicago News Cooperative and former top executive at the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times.
• George Papajohn, Deputy Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune
• Tom McNamee, Editorial Page Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times
• Kurt Gessler, Interactive Media editor, The Daily Herald
• Laura Washington, Chicago columnist and professor at DePaul University
• Peter Kendall, Associate Managing Editor of the Chicago Tribune
• Polly Smith, Money and Business Editor of the Chicago Sun-Times

The discussion will be moderated by Dirk Johnson, a former bureau chief for The New York Times and Newsweek, who lectures on journalism at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.

 

The forum is supported by APCO Worldwide, a public affairs and strategic communications firm with offices in Chicago; Northern Illinois University; and the Union League Club of Chicago. Light fare will be provided. Cash bar. Admission is free.

 

Space is limited. Please RSVP by June 14 to Dirk Johnson.