More on the town hall

Here are some more helpful links to photos, other observations and audio of the Chicago Journalism Town Hall: 

-A link list of other accounts on Literago

-Audio of Sunday's town hall from WBEZ

-Flickr photos from the event

-A account of the event from the Windy Citizen blog

Enjoy- and let me know of other productive conversations as you discover them.

Thoughts on the Chicago Journalism Town Hall

{From the Town Hall (left to right): Carol Marin, Michael Miner, Salim Muwakkil, Eric Zorn and Ken Davis}

Two weeks ago the Chicago Media Workshop sent me their monthly update blast promoting an event called the Chicago Journalism Town Hall. Before I even had time to read through the details of the event, I was hurriedly composing my RSVP email to secure a ticket- how could I miss such a gathering of the city's finest journalistic minds? I read on again once I had caught my breath...and showed up at the Allegro Hotel on Sunday to take part in this historic gathering.

Amidst the dizzying national conversation about the future of (or death of) journalism/papers/etc., longtime WBEZ contributor Ken Davis decided to gather his media contacts from some of Chi-town's finest, wisely pulling from both the bastions of old-guard journalism and champions of online-only, new media, to develop a panel for a larger discussion of "what's to be done" for Chicago journalism. Included in his all-star panel were Carol Marin and John Calloway of WTTW; Eric Zorn of the Tribune; Ben Golderber, Chicago editor of Huffington Post; Andrew Huff, editor and publisher of Gaper's Block; Geoff Dougherty, founder of not-for-profit Chi-Town Daily News; and many others. The Walnut Room (once the meeting place of Chicago Dems' wheeling and dealing) was packed with over 400 members of unemployed, underemployed and currently employed members of Chicago's larger journalism community. 

It was a dynamic, energetic conversation that spanned a number of topics from funding a credible newsroom to story-stealing blogs to transitioning to non-profit models to the untapped potential of well-designed online advertising. Davis acted as a gracious and balanced moderator, with some assistance from the articulate Marin, though the tone swung dramatically from the humorously cynical and self-loathing (these are critical journalists after all) to the bitterly hotheaded. There was no lack of passion and ideas in this group, and as I spoke with some peers in the room during the break and afterward, we couldn't help but feel both invigorated by the community gathered about us and also discouraged by the circular nature of these "what to do, what to save and how to do it" conversations.

However, there was a lack of representation (at least on the panel) from the real power-players in this game- those who hold the purse strings, fund the not-for-profits, set budgeting agendas and shut down the presses. One couldn't help but feel a little distraught at the notion that these conversations might not be happening amidst the decision-makers that need nudging. The next couple days of reactions within Chicago and beyond may reveal the next steps in what we hope will be a continuing dialog. [stay tuned].