Tuesday night’s forum on the future of local print media went really very well. There were something like 85 people there, but it was tough to get a count, because the space was so overfilled. Dozens of people stood for an hour and a half and didn’t complain once, which was very generous. Our speakers were engaging and interesting, the audience had great questions, and I think everybody had a good time. (The Daily Progress’ Josh Barney was a clear crowd favorite. That guy should go on the lecture circuit.) But the whole affair left most people wanting more—a display of hands at the end showed that about 80% of the audience wanted to do this again soon, which surprised the heck out of me. I’d love to hear from folks about what they’d like a follow-up event to focus on, what should be done differently, what should be done the same, and who they’d like to hear speak. I’m grateful to everybody for coming out, to Left of Center for co-hosting this with cvillenews.com, and to all four of our speakers for their willingness to participate.

Sean Tubbs recorded the event for posterity, and you can listen on the Charlottesville Podcasting Network website.

I’m trying something new here—taking a cvillenews.com discussion into a real, physical forum. In an event held jointly with Left of Center in one week’s time at Rapture. Here’s the promotional blurb:

News media across the country are collapsing. After recent staff cuts, furloughs and the shutdown of local printing for The Daily Progress, will Media General be doing more downsizing? Can we support four TV stations? Two weeklies? Will blogs replace all of them? What about the partnership between the non-profit Charlottesville Tomorrow and the Daily Progress, being watched nationally as a possible future model for local news?

University of Virginia media studies professor Bruce Williams will give a historical overview of how changing “media regimes” in the U.S. have impacted political communication and civil society, and how the recent “broadcast era” may have been an anomaly in the larger sweep of American history. Then we’ll talk about what the future holds with Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Sean Tubbs, Daily Progress assistant city editor Josh Barney, and Hook editor Hawes Spencer.

Free appetizers and socializing (with a cash bar) from 7 to 7:30 p.m precedes a panel discussion and introduction to the issue. Then we open the floor to audience questions. Come join the discussion.

RSVP on Facebook so we’ll know you’re coming (or, if you’re not down with Facebook, you can RSVP here or, hey, just show up). Though it was tempting to include broadcast media, we’ve deliberately focused primarily on print media, in order to prevent the discussion from being too broad and shallow—sorry, broadcast folks. Next time.

Tuesday, January 12, 7:00 PM, Rapture. I hope you’ll come.