The Future of Journalism in the Age of the Internet: A Panel Discusion

With media critic Mike Niman, political blogger Alan Bedenko, & media and First Amendment lawyer Joe Finnerty

Talking Leaves…Books, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, and the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) are pleased to announce a collaborative event to discuss some of the critical issues of media and law today. Panelists Mike Niman, Alan Bedenko, and Joe Finnerty will focus attention on "the business of media in the age of the internet" looking at some of the many changes the internet has wrought on the media, including issues like citizen journalism, user-generated content, personal and corporate liability, and the definition of "journalist." We'll look at recent developments like the Newsweek/Daily Beast merger, the AOL purchase of the Huffington Post, the downfall of Congressman Chris Lee, and the New York Times attempts to initiate a paywall. After brief presentations from the panelists (we may add a fourth, a current Buffalo print journalist), we'll open the discussion to the audience.

Mike Niman is a Professor in the Communications Department at Buffalo State College, a media critic for Artvoice, and the author of People of the Rainbow (University of Tennessee Press, soon to be released in a revised and expanded second edition). Alan Bedenko is a Buffalo lawyer who blogs at WNYmedia.net as Buffalo Pundit. He has been voted best Buffalo blogger by readers of Artvoice in 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2010, and best on-line writer by readers of Buffalo Spree in 2009. He has been blogging since 2003. Joe Finnerty is a media and First Amendment lawyer at the Buffalo firm Hiscock Barclay. He is the Western New York representative of the MLRC, one the evening's co-sponsors. The MLRC Institute is a nonprofit educational organization focused on the media and the First Amendment that organizes public discussions like this one around the country, often in conjunction with the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABBFE), of which Talking…Leaves is a founding member.

Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center and Talking Leaves…Books often co-present events dealing with contemporary issues relating to the intersections of arts, culture, and politics. Media access and media protections—especially regarding the First Amendment—are critical matters to both organizations. Our first collaboration with the MLRC—a panel on journalist shield laws held in March 2009—was a great success.

Some publications related to this event:
April and May, 2011 - 2011