Detroit, Feb. 25, 2008 - Professional journalists, including those from The Detroit News and WXYZ TV-7 (ABC), will discuss the impact on the industry of the citizen journalist and opportunities for "bloggers," Monday, March 3 at Wayne State University's Journalism Program. The event, "The Citizen Journalist and New Media," is free and open to the public and will take place at 2 p.m. in the African American room on the lower level of Wayne State's Manoogian Hall.

Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, a new project of the Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication at Arizona State University (ASU), is also director of the the Center for Citizen Media, a joint project of ASU and Harvard University Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. The Center surveys how traditional media organizations are bringing their audiences into the journalism process, and is working to create the Citizen Media Law Project, a resource to develop legal guidance and resources for the challenges that citizen journalists face. The veteran print journalist is a blogger who works to empower citizen journalists in the U.S. and in developing nations in Africa and Southeast Asia, as they help to shape the policies and leadership in their communities and beyond.

Nancy Hanus, New Media director of The Detroit News has worked for the past year re-vamping the News' website, with the help and input of its online community. With the input of citizen journalists, the News plans even more interactivity, community, database resources and multimedia, for every section and page.

Andrea Parquet-Taylor - news director, WXYZ-TV 7 (ABC) discusses the changes in news coverage and the effects of the citizen photojournalist. Citizen reporters phone in with breaking news, right from the scene, and video and cell phone technology mean citizen reports from the field are making it on the air.

Matt Roush - the technology editor at WWJ and founder of the Great Lakes IT Report, describes technological developments that facilitate citizen journalists.

The event is moderated by Jack Lessenberry of WSU's Journalism Program.

Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students in metropolitan Detroit.