On June 2, California Common Cause, a nonpartisan grassroots organization, and PEN America Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to defending free speech, will host the second annual “Media and Democracy Policy” event aimed having a public conversation about California’s media policy and to identify strategies that could help rebuild and sustain a strong news information ecosystem for the state.
The online event will is expected to address various community-based media solutions to better support local and ethnic media.
In the last 18 years, more than 1,800 local newspapers have closed across the U.S., and California has lost more daily newspapers than any state, according to the Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
Next month’s webinar will feature media experts and journalists from across the country and will be moderated by Hannah Waltz, who is a writer and a U.S. Free Expression Programs coordinator at PEN America.
Panelists will include: Brittney Barsotti, staff attorney and lobbyist for the California News Publishers Association; Arturo Carmona, a recipient of the Hispanic Achievement Award from “Hispanic Magazine” and founder of Latino Media Collaborative; Simon Galperin, journalist, organizer and director of the Bloomfield Information Project; Joaquin Uy, External Affairs Manager and Policy Advisor for Seattle’s Ethnic Media Program; and Darlie Gervais, the advertising spending coordinator for the Center for Community Media and a former journalist and communications and media manager.
The webinar is free and open to media professionals and the public. RSVP via Zoom by clicking HERE. The event begins at 12 p.m. PT.