On a recent media tour through the offices of New York’s elite print media, I was surprised to see just how much the media landscape has changed in the past couple of years. Gone are the seasoned pros with 20 to 30+ years experience and in their places… GASP! hip 20 to 30 somethings who were just kids when the vets started their careers. In a new wave of media, where budgets… and circulations are down, the “youngsters” are on the rise with a plan to establish themselves in the media world while bringing their publications back from the dead.
From the “Juicebox Mafia” in DC to the “Dude-itors” of NYC, this group of laid back “youngsters” is setting the tone in both print and online media that they are a force to be reckoned with. This new age of editors knows how to market themselves… their not just writers by day, but also full blown personalities making a name for themselves on Twitter, Facebook and the glossy magazine pages. They are also the editors that have grown their publications’ .coms to compete with the torrent of the online news cycle. Can you say iPad apps? Speaking of, have you checked out The Daily yet? It’s an iPad only news source that launched recently.
“Twenty years ago? If you’re in your 30s you’re not going to tell someone in their 50s, ‘Don’t worry, I know how to do it.’ Now that’s changed,” said veteran and former managing editor at TIME Jim Kelly in a recent WWD article on the “Dude-itors.” The landscape has changed and with it so must we as PR pros. Clients must be up to speed and prepared for the onslaught of awesome, totally, fabulous… and yes even the “delish” I heard at one of the top pubs. Just because you may not speak their language, doesn’t mean your message won’t translate or that they won’t turn around and write a killer piece on your business. The laid back world of these 20 and 30 somethings is the new wave of media, and who knows, maybe their chilled out attitudes will keep them around as the 20 to 30+ veterans down the road.
