Journalists, community leaders, parents, teachers, teenagers and interested citizens are invited to meet prominent journalists and share their opinions and insight about how media covers African-American communities and issues.

Thursday, June 2, 2005, 3:30 - 5 p.m.
Columbia College Chicago, 1104 S. Wabash Ave., Chicago

The Great Divide: Improving Coverage of the African-American Communities and Issues

Join professor and award-winning journalist Laura S. Washington as she leads a roundtable discussion about media's relationship with the black community.

We'll look at such questions as:
• Why does the media always focus on the "bad news" in black communities?
• Whose news is it anyway? Is there a black perspective on the news? Is it relevant to news managers?
• What's the media doing right? What important stories is it missing?
• How do we facilitate better coverage and bridge "the great divide"?

Coming to contribute, listen and learn will be:

• Cliff Kelley, Host, WVON
• Jerry Thomas, publicist, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition
• Salim Muwakkil, syndicated columnist and editor and In These Time reporter
• Sylvia Ewing, journalist and producer for WBEZ/Chicago Public Radio
• Alysia Tate, editor and publisher, Chicago Reporter
• Don Wycliff, public editor, Chicago Tribune
• Roland Martin, executive editor, Chicago Defender
...and more.

Want to weigh in early on this discussion? Tell us what you think at www.newstips.org/perspectives/aamerican.

This discussion is part of the June 1 & 2 Making Media Connections conference. To see the full conference schedule and to register, go to www.newstips.org!

This roundtable discussion is FREE, but please RSVP to aamericanroundtable (at) newstips.org.

This discussion is organized with cooperation of the Independent Press Association-Chicago, Black Public Relations Society, Chicago Headline Club, Association for Women Journalists and other partners.

This roundtable discussion runs concurrently with one addressing coverage of Latino communities and issues. To learn more about that discussion, see www.newstips.org/interior.php.