October Journalist Roundtable

KOCT’s first show of the fall, Journalist Roundtable on October 1^st had a diverse variety of topics:  weather, money and media.

Our first guest was Alex Tardy, a Meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He discussed the Ying and Yang of our weather—the Drought and El Nino. Alex is the Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service in San Diego.  He has worked for the National Weather Service for 22 years.

Our second guest was Dan McSwain, the business columnist for the San Diego Union Tribune. He discussed the Pension issue and its potential negative effect on local and our state government. He revealed some sobering pension statistics facing the City of Oceanside.

Dan McSwain has 15 years of experience in San Diego County as a journalist. Before joining U-T San Diego in 2012, he was managing editor, news editor, editorial page editor and a business reporter for the North County Times.  (Long time KOCT viewers will also remember him as the former host of JRT).

Dean Nelson (L) and Dan McSwain (R)

Our final segment was a roundtable discussion about the firing of the publisher of the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune and the lowering of its financial forecast for the year. The journalists discussed the state of North County media. Our special guest for this segment was Dean Nelson, Professor of Journalism at Point Loma University, and the media all-star panel included Dan McSwain and the host of Journalist Roundtable, veteran journalist Kent Davy. Our other panelists were our long-time contributors, KPBS’s North County Bureau Editor, Alison St John and San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Logan Jenkins.

Program replays can be viewed on Channel 18 Cox Cable in Oceanside as well as AT&T and U-Verse Channel 99 county-wide. This program airs at 7 am and 6 pm Monday thru Friday on Channel 18. You can also watch the program as Video On Demand via www.koct.org and on your smart phone, tablet or computer by clicking here:  http://koct.org/video/category/journalist_roundtable/detail/journalist_roundtable_october_1_2015

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