Five Bay Area journalists will discuss the death of Matthew Shepard and the state of gay journalism at a Commonwealth Club forum on Monday, Oct. 6.

Ten years ago, on Oct. 7, 1998, Shepard was brutally beaten on a road outside Laramie, Wyo. and died five days later. The same day, the “CBS Evening News” featured the headline of the Bay Area Reporter, a gay community newspaper, which declared “No Obits,” its first issue in 17 years where no obituaries appeared.

Participants include:

• David Lamble, KPFA host and Bay Area Reporter writer;
• David Kligman, former AP reporter whose story captured the significance of the “no obits” headline in the Reporter;
• Ed Walsh, KGO-TV assignment editor and longtime investigative journlist;
• Cynthia Laird, Bay Area Reporter editor;
• Tony Russomanno, former KPIX and KGO-TV reporter;
• Jim Hammer, prosecutor in the death of Karen Whipple, murdered by out of control dogs in the hall of her apartment house; • Tommi Avicolli Mecca, writer for the Philadelphia Gay News and today a community activist;
• Rev. Jim Mitulski, formerly pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco;
• Jeff Sheehy, author of the Equal Rights Ordinance and today, a spokesman for the UCSF Medical Center.

The forum is co-sponsored by the National Lesbian, Gay Journalists Association, Northern California Chapter. Here’s a link for ticket information.