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ALL presents the Future of Democracy and Journalism at ACC

Greg Awtry

ALPENA — The Association of Lifelong Learners invites the public to attend an open discussion on the Future of Democracy and Journalism from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday at Alpena Community Colege.

The panel will feature retired publisher and Alpena News columnist Greg Awtry, and Alpena News Managing Editor Justin Hinkley. The event will be held in the Newport Center, Room 106.

This is a discussion, not a presentation, between the program attendees and the panel about the state of the media today and how it relates to the future of democracy. Join ALL for a lively discussion.

Discussion topics are dependent on where the attendees would like to go. The topics may include the following:

1) First Amendment obligations regarding freedom of the press, and its purpose

Justin Hinkley

2) Biased news coverage

3) The consumption and dissemination of the news

4) Obligations of citizens AND journalists in today’s media environment.

5) What news sources are trustworthy?

6) Is the media really the “enemy of the people?”

Greg Awtry is a retired newspaper publisher, who was raised in Nebraska and went to the University of Nebraska in Kearney, Neb. His professional career included moves to St. Louis, Mo., Lansing, Richmond, Va., and back to Nebraska.

Awtry is an active columnist, writing personal and political columns for the York News-Times, The Scottsbluff Star-Herald, and now, The Alpena News. He was named number one columnist by the Associated Press in their North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska bureau in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2017. Since 2009 he has actively written about the injustice of strip mining and transporting Canadian tar sands to America, and the fracking wastewater disposal practices. He retired in December 2018 and lives in Hubbard Lake.

Justin Hinkley is the current managing editor of The Alpena News. He began his journalism career in 2006 at The Battle Creek Enquirer, then from 2014 to 2018 at The Lansing State Journal, and now, The Alpena News.

Hinkley was born and raised in Battle Creek and has covered everything from K-12 schools to rock musicians to local governments to state government. Hinkley’s investigations have resulted in laws being introduced in Lansing and policies changed in his hometown. Hinkley has won more than 20 awards combined from the Associated Press, Michigan Press Association, and Gannett Co., who owns both the Battle Creek Enquirer and the Lansing State Journal. He has been published in The IRE Journal, the award-winning magazine of Investigative Reporters & Editors.

For more information, contact the ALL office at 989-358-7207.

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