Patch Editor on 'Future of Journalism' Panel Saturday at ARC

#nobodyhasalltheanswers.

That seems like a pretty 21st-century way of describing what's going on with journalism right now. Traditional media outlets have suffered in recent years, and reporters and everyday citizens are trying their hands at new ways of covering their communities every day.

Patch is one of those new models–the kind of thing that would have been hard to imagine a decade ago (or even more recently).

I don't have a crystal ball into the future of the media, but it's fun to speculate. I'll be on a five-person panel at 2 p.m. Saturday in the American River College theater called "The Future of Journalism." Along with a Sacramento public radio host, a food and wine critic, a reporter for a web-based nonprofit and a writer who's had a book turned into an HBO miniseries, I'll be talking about the disruptive changes in journalism and what they mean for people who rely on news to inform their decisions and help them connect with the world around them.

All are welcome to attend, and I'm sure we'll be Tweeting or posting something online for those who can't make it. Below is the full announcement from American River College:

The American River College Community Lecture and Concert Series will host a panel of several of the state's top journalists on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 2:00pm  in the ARC  theater at 4700 College Oak Dr., Sacramento, California, to discuss the changes currently transforming the news industry and what it all means to a nation that requires a free press and an informed citizenry for its democracy to function properly. The digital revolution has thrown the news industry into a state of massive upheaval, making it more social, diverse, participatory and partisan. While the media business continues to experience a prolonged period of tumult  -- with old orders crumbling and new orders having yet to fully announce themselves -- one fact remains: people are consuming more news today than ever before in the history of the profession. More information is available at 916-484-8558 or on the web at arc.losrios.edu.

The other scheduled panelists are:

• Jeffrey Callison, host of Capital Public Radio's "Insight"
• Chris Macias, Sacramento Bee food and wine writer
• Evan Wright, former contributing editor to Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair magazines, author of "Generation Kill"
• Queena Kim, Bay Citizen reporter

The discussion will be moderated by Tim Swanson, American River College professor and journalism department chair.