Ashland, Oregon (December 31, 2024) – News media outlets all over America are facing some serious challenges. Join us to hear from local news experts Bert Etling, Ashland.news Executive Editor; Bob Wise, KOBI-TV NBC5 Vice President and General Manager; and Heidi Wright, President, FORJournalism, about the state of local and regional journalism in Southern Oregon and beyond. The discussion will be held on Tuesday, January 7, from 4:00-5:30 PM at the Ashland Library.
Etling was previously Editor in Chief of The Applegater news magazine and edited the Ashland Daily Tidings from 2014 to 2019, leading a local news revival for the cherished community paper. He began his community journalism career in 1982 at the Santa Ynez Valley News in Solvang, California, and he holds a degree in philosophy from Stanford University. Wise has been at KOBI-TV for 20+ years where, among other things, he produced four U.S. Senate debates and five Gubernatorial debates in NBC5 studios. The station has won three National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Awards and Wise has received the Oregon Broadcaster of the Year Award twice. Previously Wright was COO of EO Media Group and publisher of The Bulletin in Bend and Medford’s Rogue Valley Times. Now she leads FORJournalism, a nonprofit organization created by EO Media three years ago. Wright moved from Montana in 2004, and she has been a part of the Oregon journalism scene for 20 years, from Klamath Falls to Salem to Bend.
The monthly “Big Ideas” discussion series features prominent local experts speaking on relevant and timely issues affecting our community. Lectures are jointly sponsored by the Ashland Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and Jackson County Library Services. For more information, please contact Jackson County Library Services at 541-774-6996.