In the Washington Post a professor at American University wrote an article about how she made her students go 24-hours without technology. No cell phones, computers, Internet, TV, etc. I knew exactly where the professor was going with the lesson and even imagined some of my professor's incorporating it into their syllabus. The students, obviously, were dumbfounded with the idea. "'No cellphones?' they asked in pleading voices, looking around at one another with wide eyes and open mouths. 'When we're driving around, we can't listen to the radio?' a student asked."

Thanks to technology, the media has been incorporated into every aspect of my life. I've grown up depending on technology to bring me the news. But with technology constantly changing and driving lifestyle changes, and so many options for news, it is getting harder and harder for News Stations to keep their viewers while attracting new, younger ones.

A new age is upon us and the possibilities are endless. Digital TV and HD TV possibilities are great, but there are other aspects of the new age that are just as important too. Graphics, animation, and anchor-interactive pieces truly expand the stories. My generation grew up with video-games and movies full of computerization and visual effects. CNN's Situation Room capitalizes on this. Their 'active anchor' concept engages the viewer in a different way than what TV stations used to use. The anchors don't simply read the story, they tell it. The animation gives them a chance to re-create the scene and show viewers exactly what happened. Anchors have a chance to do more than sit and read the news.

We've all seen that storytelling has changed throughout the years. What used to be one deadline has turned into many. Blogs, web updates, Podcasts and RSS feeds increase the immediacy and demand for news. User-generated content is popping up everywhere from YouTube to local news station websites and programs. Some are avid fans for the content while others don't see the journalistic value. At this year's Interactive Media conference and tradeshow, Mark Lukasiewicz, Vice President, Digital Media for NBC News led the seminar, "What Channel Am I On?" Today technology is readily available to the public. But just because it is doesn't mean that stations need to exhaust it. Lukasiewicz warns that, "Technology can not replace people." Journalists still must gather, write and report news, as well as edit and produce stories.

Lukasiewicz opened his seminar with this: "Your kids take it [technology] for granted, you should too." Like most of my generation, I don't find ways to incorporate technology into my life, it just happens to fit right in. It can fit just as easily in newscasts too.