Issues facing independent and alternative media outlets will be the focus of a daylong event at the Vancouver Public Library central branch on Saturday (November 6).

Media Democracy Day runs from noon to 5 p.m. and features an exhibitors fair, workshop, and panel discussions with local journalists, academics, and activists.

Tony Burman, a former CBC editor in chief who is now senior executive of the Americas for Al Jazeera English, delivers the keynote speech.

Among the other speakers are David Beers, founding editor of the online news source the Tyee; Amber Dawn, programming director for the Vancouver Queer Film Festival; and Donald Gutstein, an adjunct professor of communications at SFU and author of the book Not a Conspiracy Theory: How Business Propaganda Hijacks Democracy.

Several panel discussions are set to cover topics including Canadian copyright issues, “greenwashing” by corporate media, issues around the emergence of a “Fox News North”, as well as representations of gender, sexuality, and violence in media.

For more information about the free event, visit the Media Democracy Day Website (www.mediademocracyday.org).