POTSDAM -- Ken Tingley, author of “The Last American Newspaper,” will discuss his latest book and the challenges facing local news media in the NYSUT Building, 59 Lawrence Ave. on Wednesday March 22, at 6 p.m.

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Tingley is the first speaker in the “Elevate the Conversation” speaker’s tour sponsored by the St. Lawrence County Democratic Committee.

Goal of “Elevate the Conversation” is to provide an outlet for speakers and participants to expand thought and discussion in a civil and productive way, and improve life and relationships in the North Country through a better understanding of the lives and concerns of our neighbors.

Tingley spent 21 years as editor of The Post-Star in Glens Falls, where nine times his newspaper was named the top newspaper of its size in upstate New York and in 2009 won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. The Poynter Institute called his new book “a love letter to local newspapers and an SOS to the communities they serve.

The Last American Newspaper is a “clarion call for citizens who are rightly concerned about who is going to do the kind of journalism needed in a democracy,” said David Stoeffler, publisher of the Springfield (MO) Daily Citizen.

Tingley says community newspapers make their cities and towns better “by sparking debate and discussion as a way to address community problems and concerns while also celebrating their successes.”

Said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, “Local papers and reporters play such a vital and trusted role in our society and our democracy and — like many New Yorkers — I rely on them to stay connected and informed about what our communities need. The knowledge I gain from local reporting and hometown papers makes me a better public servant.”