Old Media in Disguise

I've been swamped these past two weeks trying to make the necessary preparations for our new morning show on 'KTI. I pretty much cleared my schedule to get this done.

But there was one thing I didn't want to postpone. I had been asked to participate in a discussion with some young students studying for careers in media. What really caught my attention was that they were studying new media versus traditional media.

Okay - I was pretty sure where my media stood, and I was ready to sit on that side of the discussion. After all, my interpretation of new media was cool new gadgets and hi-tech stuff. You know - the stuff that makes you feel old.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to the discussion on weblogs (blogs, like this one) and was most interested in what sites these 20-somethings were into. Sure they liked TMZ and Perez Hilton, but there were plenty of other sites all known to them (and unknown to me) that were of a more serious nature.

Spoiler alert - here comes the part where I learn something.

I mentioned the name of a (self-proclaimed) prominent local blogger.

Sure - everyone had heard of her. A few even had visited her blog. But when I asked them how she fit into their new media world - I was shocked to find out she did not.

She is an excellent writer. Makes her points well. Chooses her subjects/topics and makes a compelling argument for her own opinion.

What was the catch?

She did not allow comments.

You see, these 20-somethings didn't respect and give 'new media' status to anyone who just spews out opinion without a forum for rebuttal.

One of them put it best, saying the only thing she had over traditional media was that her voice didn't cost us trees (a reference to newspaper print).

I couldn't check our sites quick enough to make sure all of our KTI people allowed comments on their blogs. I was proud to see that they all do.

So today I have a new perspective on "new media" from the eyes of a 20-something. It's more than HTML and WI-FI. It's about the free sharing of ideas.

How can you not be excited about the future when these kids will sit in our chairs someday - unless they have invented some sort of levitation device by then ... and don't need chairs!