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Big Ideas: ‘The Current State of Local/Regional Journalism’

From left, Ashland.news Executive Editor Bert Etling, KOBI-TV NBC5 Vice President and General Manager Bob Wise, and FORJournalism President Heidi Wright.
January 4, 2025

Three local news leaders to speak at free public forum Tuesday

Ashland.news staff report

News media outlets everywhere are facing some serious challenges and it’s time to talk about it. “The Current State of Local/Regional Journalism” is a free public program offered as part of the “Big Ideas” program series presented by the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Ashland Branch and Jackson County Library Services.

The amount of reporting produced in Oregon has been declining for decades — a fact that is likely unsurprising to Oregonians who have seen their newspapers thin and local coverage shrink, according to a recent report by OPB. It’s a trend that has been playing out across the country as the business of producing journalism has faltered alongside the rise of the internet.

An upcoming discussion of the situation feature three local news leaders is set for 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, in the Gresham Room at Ashland Public Library, 410 Siskiyou Blvd.

The speakers are Bert Etling,Ashland.newsexecutive editor; Bob Wise, KOBI-TV NBC5 vice president and general manager; and Heidi Wright, president, FORJournalism.

Etling was previously editor in chief of The Applegater newsmagazine 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 ValleyNews in Solvang, California, and earned a degree in philosophy from Stanford University.

Wise has been at KOBI-TV for 20-plus 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.

Wright was previously COO of EO Media Group and publisher of The Bulletinin 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 Oregon journalism for 20 years, from Klamath Falls to Salem to Bend.

Email Ashland.news at [email protected].

Picture of Bert Etling

Bert Etling

Bert Etling is the executive editor of Ashland.news. Email him at [email protected].

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