Leonel Sanchez Reinventing Myself in the New Media Age

Leonel Sanchez: Reinventing Myself in the New Media Age

Hundreds of people in the news media industry have been affected in the last years by the recession in the US, and the world in general. Newsrooms in and around San Diego are struggling to provide information with a lot less employees and a tighter budget. Layoffs in the news media industry have brought uncertainty and despair to these professionals and their families. But as the US tries to come out of the recession and the media industry along with it, the industry is also facing an additional and huge challenge. People are now getting their news from very diverse and affordable sources- and are also very much involved in the process of gathering and sharing those news through social media, a situation that forces us all to rethink the role of journalists and the media, in general.
Journalists who are now without a job are faced with new challenges on how to readjust to the evolving news media industry and in what capacity.
Some have joined the marketing and PR fields. Some others have started their own blogs, websites or production companies. And still others have chosen to take a totally different and unrelated path.
Leonel Sanchez, a 20 + year writer/reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune is one of the most renown bilingual and bicultural journalists in San Diego. He has been recipient to a number of journalism awards and has been a mentor to generations and generations of kids trying to work their way into journalism. He is also highly appreciated by his colleagues and other community members in San Diego.
Leonel is determined to overcome this new media's challenges by going back to school and acquiring all the additional skills needed not only to survive and succeed but to keep mentoring others along the way. And above all, he hopes to inspire his family, friends and colleagues who are being impacted by the recession, to take these tough times as an opportunity for growth, change, to reinvent themselves rather than a setback or a failure.
After all, in his particular situation, new skills can be acquired with a few weeks or months of special training- 20+ years of journalism experience would most likely take another 20+ years out in the field.
Congratulations to Leonel and everyone in his situation!! An inspiring story!!!

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Print journalism
• layoff in the media
• journalist Leonel Sanchez
• new media enterpreneurs
• education
• digital media
• Punto Fronterizo
• Carmen Escobosa
• estudioC productions