DePaul University’s Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor Laura S. Washington will host a panel of media experts at a roundtable discussion on “Political Timing” in the 2004 presidential election campaign Nov. 15 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Schmitt Academic Center, 2320 N. Kenmore Ave., Room 254.

The award-winning editor and Chicago Sun-Times columnist will welcome Scott Deatherage, senior lecturer and director of the debate society at Northwestern University; Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan; Stephen Kinzer, Chicago-based correspondent for The New York Times (tentative); and Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.

The panel will center its discussion on such topics as: the art and artifice of political timing; the two wars that dominated the recent presidential election; the ways that time and the passage of time influence 21st century American politics; around-the-clock media coverage’s effect on political strategy; and whether or not the near-instantaneous nature of blogging is “bogging down” the power of traditional media.

The media round table is sponsored by DePaul’s Humanities Center and is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the discussion. Parking is available at the Sheffield Parking Facility, 2335 N. Sheffield Ave., and the Clifton Parking Deck, 2330 N. Clifton Ave.