CPT12 Pressroom

DENVER – (March 11, 2010) – With the rapidly changing media landscape, how do you find credible information versus opinion in the Internet age? Where can you turn for context, background and sense-making?

A new weekly public television series The Future of News – debuting Friday, Mar. 26 on Channel 12.1 – will provide answers to those questions and more. It’s a "user’s guide" to News 2.0.

Journalist Frank Sesno will guide conversations among leading journalists with episodes highlighting emerging forms of news, educating viewers on navigating the maze of digital information sources and examining the role of a free press in a digital democracy.

A diverse group of voices will engage in a lively, informative and civil discussion about topics ranging from international reporting to the accelerated news cycle.

Mainstream-media journalists, including NBC’s Anny Curry, ABC’s Sam Donaldson and Chicago Tribune’s Clarence Page will explain the challenges facing their profession, while new-media journalists – Politico executive editor Jim VandeHei and blogger Jay Rosen, among them – believe the digital revolution presents exciting opportunities outside the current business model.

Throughout the series, Newseum correspondent Sonya Gavankar will use touch-screen technology to explore websites that offer credible alternatives to traditional news providers.

In the first episode, guests Ann Curry of NBC and Charles Sennott of Global Post, both of whom have careers in international reporting, will join Sesno to discuss the changing media landscape and what it means for news credibility in a digital age. Both of these traditional media reporters have embraced the Web and new media.

Program host Frank Sesno brings 30 years of broadcast journalism experience, including 21 years at CNN where he served as White House correspondent, anchor and Washington Bureau Chief. Before joining CNN, he was a radio correspondent for the AP in London and at the White House. Sesno currently is director of School of Media and Public Affairs at the George Washington University where he teaches how the media affects the creation of public policy.

The Future of News has one-year educational recording rights for teachers to tape for use in the classroom. The episodes are excellent tools for teaching media literacy and critical thinking skills.

Program host Frank Sesno will be the first guest of honor and speaker for Colorado Public Television’s 2010 speaker series on Thursday, May 13 at the Denver Newspaper Agency Auditorium in Denver. A reception at 6 p.m. will be followed by Sesno’s presentation and a panel discussion at 7 p.m. For ticket information and program details, call 303-296-5038.