BOOK BEAT LUNCHEON with authors Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols, who have written "The Death and Life of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again." The Colorado Society of Professional Journalists will co-sponsor this event.

McChesney is an acclaimed communication scholar and host of NPR's "Media Matters." Nichols, a veteran newspaper and magazine writer and pioneering political blogger, see much greater danger in the death of journalism than the loss of the printed daily news. They say that without a free and independent press, our democracy is doomed to fail.

They explore the history of the media meltdown and its political implications, reject the easy answers of blaming the Internet or imagining that markets will provide answers, and offer a bold solution for saving American journalism.

The cost is $11 for members and $14 for nonmembers. The menu consists of chicken marsala, roasted potatoes, mixed vegetables and tossed salad. Reservations are a must by 5 p.m. Friday, April 23, at www.blacktie-colorado.com, under April 26. If you want the full link, it's http://www.blacktie-colorado.com/calendar/index.cfm?FuseCalendar_ID=19816&CurntDate=04/26/2010®ion=1&FUSEACTION=ShowEvent