I was confronted once again last night with an ugly truth.
I'm old.
I was delighted to attend a special 'Communications in the Future' symposium at Penn State Brandywine in Middletown. My thanks for Helene Bludman for a great night.
If the focus was on the future, I was certainly feeling like a part of its past. When I met the other members of the media panel, I was struck not only by how talented they were, but also how young.
The business is in good hands with people like Elizabeth Fiedler, from WHYY, Lauren Yapalater, an associate editor at Buzzfeed.com, and Blair Cardinal, who toils on 'the dark side' as a public relations official.
The purpose of the evening was two-fold, as explained by emcee and longtime Penn State presence Joe Biscontini. It also was honoring some of the best works by high school journalists. They were right about that. The kids' stuff was first-rate. I'm glad I didn't have to serve as a judge.
All I had to do was try to impart some wisdom on these young minds. I started by referencing something Biscontini had mentioned in introducing me. I asked how many people in the room were not alive when I started here at the Daily Times in 1982. Almost every hand shot up.
Yeah, I'm old.
It was a fascinating night talking about the media, where we've been, where we are now, and most important where we're headed.
It's clear from the questions posed by both the students and many of their parents, that the media is on a lot of people's minds.
I tried to once again relay the struggle I feel most days as I toil in two worlds, still developing a print edition every day, while also taking full advantage of our online presence and the ability to deliver information 24 hours a day.
This blog is one of those great joys, one of the things I like most about the Internet: It gives me the opportunity to write every day.
That is what I stressed with the students. After you strip away all the bells and whistles, the Tweets and Facebook posts, it still comes down to that core ingredient.
There's nothing more powerful than the written word.
I can testify to the fact that there is no shortage of powerful young voices out there. I'll be looking for them to do great things.
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