Unfortunately too many younger journalists don't think PHP or SQL is important or is part of journalism. Hard to have a real sense of something without giving it a chance.

It takes effort to learn new skills and is not what they were (incorrectly) told they would need to do at journalism school so they see it as "tech" work not journalism.

But in the end most of them people will be unemployed and complain about the industry and how it was impossible to find a job. Big data is a big deal in journalism, too bad they never gave it a chance.

I got to a point where my technical skills were out of date as I was working in a place focused on the same old same old. I left and co-founded a startup mediaspotme.com that will do more to support journalism than my work at a TV producer on a Charlie Rose type show in Toronto. I have already built lot of"tech" skills, before I was never on HN.

Best lines: "vanity of a byline" "I no longer can introduce myself as a reporter and watch people’s eyes light up"

I was a TV producer and can relate. Part of the attraction was to be where the action is, but increasingly main stream media is not that place. A byline does not necessarily equal impact.

I quit and co-founded a startup that will do more for journalism than my work in TV, but in a less public way that people can't relate to. Media Spot Me is for journalists to discover people to interview. Something that was a central pain-point of mine.

I still appreciate the possibility of the media but like you said it is not as sexy inside as it sounds when talking about it to others.