A PANEL DISCUSSION EVERYONE! A PANEL DISCUSSION!

http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/documents/02-24-panel.pdf

So, as I'm accustomed to, one of the first things I do when I come home is rifle through the garbage because sometimes my kids have trouble distinguishing between "real" and "junk" mail. Your call here. And what to my surprise but from from underneath an empty can of tuna, I gingerly retrieved the following mailer. (So, yes, it smelled fishy in more ways than one, one might say. Me? Never. Why bother to say it anyway, when it's so convenient just to type it right here?)

It reads:

Join us for this panel presentation
featuring:

Chad Hermann
Blogger, The Radical Middle (Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette); Editorial Director, Carbolic
Smoke Ball; Communication Consultant

Meg Martin
Online Editor, The Roanoke Times

Jay Rosen
Professor, New York University,
Department of Journalism

Jon Wolman
Editor and Publisher, Detroit News

moderated by
David Shribman
Executive Editor, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The University Honors College of the University of Pittsburgh
and Pittsburgh Post-Gazette present
“The Future of Journalism and Democracy”
Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 8 p.m.
Twentieth Century Club Auditorium
4201 Bigelow Boulevard, Oakland
Reception immediately following the panel
Limited Seating;
Reservations Required
RSVP
uhcevent@pitt.edu (preferred)
(or 412-624-6880)
Parking is available in
Soldiers and Sailors Garage

Be it first stated most clearly that I have no personal problem with Chad Hermann (with two nn's. And an implied "hanging Chad" joke). Let's just say I have a friend who knows Chad (or maybe more than one) who says he's really not all that bad and he's even charming. I've never met Chad. But yet, I feel I know him well. Could it be that he is more long-winded than Walt Whitman and promotes himself more than well -- which "anonymous" commenter brought up the analogy, I can't remember -- better than Billy Mays?

This is a purely professional. And let me also state clearly that I love men. Even though I'm an evil, equality-commanding feminist. And there are several men who could vouch for this, and vouch very well. :-)

But since he tries to hard to ignore me (even though he is poring over this -- Hi Chad! I see you!) because he is allied with the some men I shall refer to as "The old, unfunny farts," I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to ask him some questions. Won't you join me? Seating is limited, boys and girls.



I suppose I should be glad there is at least, a token female. (When they insist you're not the token female, it's a giveaway.) But giving first billing to someone who BLOGS FOR FREE for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- especially after he had nothing left to say -- and listing as a credential "Editorial Director of the Carbolic Smoke Ball Blog" pretty much tells me all I need to to know about journalism: it's dead.

Democracy, I hope, is still up in the air.