The public is invited to attend this event free of charge. The panel concludes this fall’s Civic Forum series at Bates, presented by the Harward Center for Community Partnerships, the Bates office that coordinates projects linking the college and community. For more information, please contact 207-786-6202 or this kcloutie@bates.edu.

The panelists are Rex Rhoades, executive editor of the Lewiston Sun Journal; Thomas Fiedler, dean of Boston University’s College of Communication and former executive editor of The Miami Herald; and Justin Ellis, former columnist, staff writer and multimedia producer for the Portland Press Herald, and now on staff at the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University.

Topics will include the role of journalism in holding government accountable; challenges journalists face today in carrying out that role; who should be the arbiter of journalistic standards; and the impact of the changing media landscape on our democracy.

Civic Forum presentations explore civic, political and policy issues significant to the local community, Maine and beyond. They often feature panels of local and national experts and lively question-and-answer sessions.