Ferguson Panel on Sept. 26

The Missouri Press Association has assembled a panel of journalists and the superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol for a presentation on "The News from Ferguson, Missouri: What Lessons Can Be Learned?" as part of its annual convention program on Sept. 26 in Columbia.
 
Freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of information, the rights of property owners, and law enforcement’s duty to maintain order: all of those interests came into sharp view and even sharper conflict amid the protests that followed the fatal shooting Aug. 9 by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, of an unarmed black man, Michael Brown, on the streets of Ferguson, bringing the focus of the nation and the world on events that followed – and continue to this day.
 
Panelists at the MPA’s 148th Annual Convention will discuss the lessons from Ferguson, a northwest St. Louis suburb, and the way forward for all concerned. The panelists will provide opening comments about their personal experiences of the days and nights of unrest in Ferguson, and then answer questions from journalists in the audience.
 
Members of the panel are:
 
   • Paul Stevens, former Associated Press bureau chief in Kansas City, who will serve as moderator.
 
   • Colonel Ron Replogle, Missouri State Highway Patrol superintendent.
 
   • John Eligon, New York Times correspondent, Kansas City.
 
   • David Carson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch photographer.
 
   • Kenya Vaughn, St. Louis American reporter and website editor.
 
   • Lawrence Bryant, St. Louis American photographer.
 
   • Jim Salter, Associated Press correspondent, St. Louis.
 
The panel session is scheduled 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Sept. 26, at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia.
 
The session is open to members of the Missouri Press Association, news media, and to persons registered in advance.  For registration information, contact 573-449-4167.
 
The Missouri Press Association, founded in 1867 and headquartered in Columbia, is the statewide trade association for more than 275 newspapers.