American Forum - "Washington Watchdogs: An Endangered Species?"

American University is hosting an American Forum regarding the future of the news industry tonight.

Right now, the news industry is in distress and the recession has made the situation even more critical. In Washington, will there still be a place for bureaus? Will there be a vacuum in coverage of the Government including agencies and Congress? Is our democracy at stake? Will there be new opportunities for journalists and coverage in general?

Moderated by Professor Wendell Cochran, the forum intends to cover these topics and more with the help of respected journalists and media businessmen in the DC area.

These people include:

Mark Whitaker - Senior VP and Washington Bureau chief, NBC News. According to NBC,Mr. Whitaker has become a popular and well-respected presence at 30 Rockefeller Center. Fellow executives often look at Mr. Whitaker for his judgment. Along the way, Mr. Whitaker has earned a reputation as a conscientious manager.

Melinda Wittstock - Founder and CEO of Capitol News Connection. CNC's site says she is an award-winning broadcast and print journalist with 18 years' reporting and hosting experience in the highly competitive New York, Washington, and London media markets.

Bill Kovach - Founding chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists. According to the Missouri school of journalism, Mr. Kovach has been a journalist and writer for 50 years. He has served as chief of The New York Times Washington Bureau,an editor of the Atlanta (Ga.) Journal-Constitution and curator of the Nieman Fellowships at Harvard University.

Suzanne Struglinski - Former president of the Regional Reporters Association. Also a Missouri journalism grad, Ms. Struglinski has worked as correspondent for the Las Vegas Sun for over 3 years.

Tyler Marshall - Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of a PEJ study on Washington journalism. Mr. Marshall has had extensive experience covering international events, including armed conflicts and major political change in the Middle East, East Asia and Europe. He has reported for the Los Angeles Times for 27 years!

All of the people just mentioned have been in the field for awhile and it will be very interesting to hear what they have to say about the current situation. We'll see in a few minutes.