Two well-known Los Angeles journalists who have made the leap into new careers will join two job experts to offer practical advice for Southern California journalists who have left, or expect to be leaving, their jobs in journalism. With L.A. journalists facing serious downsizing, the panelists will offer their sometimes-upbeat and sometimes-harrowing personal stories, woven together with no-nonsense rules for pursuing a post-media career. Come prepared to hear a few myths burst, and to learn some positive, useful ideas for what to do next.

Panelists:

Brent Hopkins: Award-winning former reporter for the Los Angeles Daily News, who specialized in urban affairs, crime and government. Brent is now an officer trainee with the Los Angeles Police Department, and in his off hours has been "on assignment" for the Press Club gathering personal stories from other L.A. journalists who, like Brent, have recently left journalism behind.

Ken Mandler: Sacramento's leading trainer in how to land a good job in government in any city that has state agencies (like L.A.). He will explain state job opportunities for journalists, ranging from policy research to human services to management, and he'll show how a 50-something person can still work their way to a state pension. Ken says that despite the unfolding budget disaster, California is hiring, because there always openings in the 300,000-plus workforce.

Gayle Pollard-Terry: Award-winning reporter and editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times, Gayle specialized for many years in education coverage. She is now the Deputy Director of Media and Communications at Los Angeles Unified School District. She will talk about her choice to jump the fence, and what it's like to become a spokeswoman for the very people she once wrote about.

Lilli Cloud: Lilli is founder of the Pasadena career-counseling firm Blue Feet. She works with entrepreneurial and executive job seekers to articulate their core offerings, communicate them to others, and use those strengths to pursue a career change or launch a small business. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, non-profits, and smaller businesses, and honed her skills working in the Middle East and Australia. Previously, she was a vice president at PainePR, and prior to that a vice president at Fleishman-Hillard, where she handled corporate and public affairs accounts. She is attuned to the challenges facing communications professionals, having earned her bachelor's degree in journalism at the University of Missouri.

Moderator: Jill Stewart, L.A. Weekly news editor and veteran print and broadcast journalist.