April 24, 2005

Meet the Press

The Tennessean advances a special event this week, a free forum at which public and press can meet to discuss issues of media balance and bias.

"The News We Need: Finding Balance in an Age of Spin" is Thursday at Fondren Hall in the Scarritt-Bennett Center on 19th Avenue South. Nashville is one of eight cities hosting the forums, which are sponsored by Preview Forum, an initiative funded by the Ford Foundation.

"Primarily, the purpose is to get the community's views on the vision, the voice and the value of local news," said Sybril Bennett, a media consultant and assistant professor of journalism. "The media needs input about the stories being covered — whether the public is being served."

... "It's a consumer-driven market," Bennett said, pointing to the proliferation of news Web sites and blogs. "It's a critical discussion at a critical time."

By the way, Bennett also will be moderating a special panel discussion on the relationship between blogging and journalism on Friday, May 6, as part of the BlogNashville conference. That panel will feature Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit.com, new-media guru J.D. Lasica, Rocky Mountain News columnist Linda Seebach and yours truly, and is scheduled for 7-8:30 p.m. Check the BlogNashville site for details.