City-without-a-newspaper panel

SPJ in LA has expanded its "Imagine a City Without a Newspaper" panel. Here's the latest list of guests:

Carolina Garcia, executive editor, Daily News

David Lauter, editor of the California section of the Los Angeles Times

James Rainey, reporter, Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

Geneva Overholser, director, USC Annenberg School of Journalism

Fox TV's John Schwada will host.

The event takes place on Feb. 18 and will be held at the Metropolitan Water District, 700 N. Alameda, starting at 6:30 p.m. For tickets or information, call (323) 593-3350, or email spjlosangeles@gmail.com.

Going paperless

The SPJ of Los Angeles is hosting a round-table discussion on Wednesday, Feb. 18 entitled "Imagine a City Without a Newspaper" with LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Geneva Overholser, director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism. John Schwada of Fox television will moderate.

Yaroslavsky, you'll remember, took issue with Los Angeles Times Publisher Eddie Hartenstein's decision to kill the California section.

The event will be held at the Metropolitan Water District, 700 N. Alameda, starting at 6:30 p.m. For tickets or information, call (323) 593-3350 or email spjlosangeles@gmail.com.

A going concern

In today's Los Angeles Times, Geneva Overholser, director of the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, and Geoffrey Cowan, dean emeritus of the USC Annenberg School, argue that the government should do more to boost the prospects of our downtrodden print media - no bailout, but some friendly legislation that helps preserve and create jobs. From the article:

There are many areas for creative solutions. Congress could increase postal-rate subsidies for magazines. It could change tax policy to remove barriers to philanthropies purchasing major news outlets. FCC policies, including rules against cross-ownership, could be reconceived to reflect the new realities of the information marketplace. Antitrust laws could be revised to allow publications to band together to charge for content. The founders understood that writers should be compensated for their work and included the copyright clause in the Constitution. We need to be equally aggressive in finding new ways to protect and reward journalism's intellectual property in this new era.