A panel of journalists and political experts will provide critical assessment of the news media’s coverage of the presidential primary race and share forecasts for coverage of the general election in the fall when DePaul University’s Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor Laura S. Washington leads a roundtable discussion from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. May 4 in the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield Ave., Room 314B.

Questions to be addressed by the panel include: How can voters assess the accuracy and fairness of campaign coverage, given the continuous ethical missteps by the media? How do the media promote or hinder the democratic process?

Michael L. Mezey, a professor of political science and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will open up the discussion. Washington, an award-winning journalist and op-ed columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times will moderate the discussion. She will be joined by Delmarie Cobb, Chicago-based political and media consultant; Maria de los Angeles Torres, DePaul associate professor of political science; Don Wycliff, public editor at the Chicago Tribune; and Jeff Zeleny, Washington correspondent at the Chicago Tribune.

The roundtable discussion is free and open to the public. Parking is available at the Sheffield Parking Facility, 2335 N. Sheffield Ave., and at the Clifton Parking Deck, 2330 N. Clifton St. This event is sponsored by DePaul’s Humanities Center. For more information about future events, call 773/325-4580 or visit the center’s Web site at: www.depaul.edu/~humctr.