Press Club Forum Review - High-Tech Skills for Low-Tech People

One webmaster. A content producer. A morning news editor. And a teenage tech guru. Put them together, in a room with a view At Point Loma Nazarene University and what do you get? A fantastic forum.

Our subject "High-Tech Skills for Low-Tech People" could have lasted for hours and several audience members stayed after hours to chat with the panelists: Jim Hotchkiss, San Diego Business Journal; Bob Hawkins and Jeff Dillon, SignOnSanDiego; Jeremiha Douglas, High Tech International High School.

News is changing in all forms: how it's delivered, who's delivering it and how it's interpreted. Jeremiha Douglas pointed out that most of his classmates get their information from the web. They are also more apt to "customize their news tastes." This makes it all the more important for everyone- teenagers and adults-to know their sources. Douglas believes this is where "real" media outlets can shine; providing solid, trustworthy, compelling content in a world where "anyone can say just about anything."

The classic struggle between content and revenue intensifies. Jim Hotchkiss says advertisers are already steadily increasing the amount of money spent on website advertising as opposed to more traditional mediums. Thus, more TV stations, radio outlets and newspapers will make websites and web casting a priority. Bob Hawkins brought up a case in point: The Union-Tribune now offers free classified ad space in order to compete with the likes of "Craig's List."

Figuring out what people want versus how they want it ranked high among all the panelists. They agreed readers are in control of what they get now more than ever. It's up to news sources to bank on reputation rather than worrying about people who provide "their own news." Hawkins pointed out that the news in newspaper is often outdated by the time it's delivered. Thus, his main priority on the AM shift is to get the very latest updated immediately on SignOnSanDiego.

And yes, this means journalists, new and old-er, will have to adapt, be aware of changing technologies. Scary proposition? For some, yes. But as long as we have people such as our panelists leading the way, it will be a journey worth taking.

Posted August 2006