New Mexico State University will host a panel discussion for Sunshine Week 2020 at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 at the NMSU Zuhl Library, third floor. This year’s topic will be “DEAD or ALIVE: Will Local News Survive? A discussion of journalism’s future.”
“Our panelists are all current, working journalists who are either in print, on the radio or online. They are all living and working in this challenging environment that makes reporting the truth so difficult. To me they are heroes. I look forward to hearing what they have to say,” said David Irvin, NMSU business and government documents librarian.
Peter Goodman will serve as moderator for the panel discussion. He is a Las Cruces-based columnist and radio personality. Panelists include Walt Rubel, Las Cruces journalist and radio personality; Kathleen Sloan, publisher and journalist at the Sierra County Sun; Algernon D’Ammassa, reporter and columnist for the Las Cruces Sun-News; and Susan Dunlap, reproductive justice reporter at the NM Political Report.
In its eighth year at the NMSU Library, Sunshine Week is a national initiative that was created by the American Society of News Editors to educate the public about the importance of open government.
“Though journalists have been derided by some of today’s politicians, it remains an important fact that news is one of the best ways to hold public officials accountable for their decisions with our money. What happens to a democratic society, we might ask ourselves, if journalists are no longer able to report on important matters,” Irvin said.
For more information contact Irvin at 575-646-6925. The NMSU Library, NMSU Department of Journalism and Media Studies and Tim Parker, an NMSU alumnus, are presenting this event.