ARTICLE AWAITING PUBLICATION IN ELECTRONIC MEDIA - JUNE 96

NOTE: This is an UNEDITED copy awaiting revision and publication by the editor.

                          New Media New Jobs
                            By - Joe Fedele

The ongoing Internet revolution that is sweeping the country has 
spawned an entirely new industry ranging from advertising and 
promotion to increased demand for specialized technical 
equipment.

The number of people going online is staggering as an estimated 
four million new Internet accounts are expected to open this 
year alone.  Needless to say, the number of new or planned web 
sites are equally as mind boggling.

From my point of view, one of the tasty little dividends of the 
explosive growth of the Internet is the increasing demand for 
computer-literate WEB site editors, coordinators and tech 
support engineers. Just look at the classified section of this 
newspaper and you'll see ads for jobs that were unheard of a 
year ago. 

This is in stark contrast to the mid-'80s when mass layoffs were 
just another fact of life.  Luckily, the pendulum is swinging 
back the other way.  I believe we are about to witness a hiring 
boom where workers with that certain special talent such as 
HTML editing and server installation and maintenance will find 
their niche in a changing marketplace. 

The net result of all this (no pun intended) is that your 
station may very well loose employees in virtually every 
department of your station.

In my opinion, the effects it will have on broadcasters will be 
traumatic as some of their top sales, advertising and technical 
employees are  hijacked by a growing industry.  

Managers, a word to the wise: It all starts with your technical 
staff. You see, someone has to build and maintain the Net. 

Next come the Web designers. You could expect to lose your best 
graphics people to that wave of new jobs. Advertising, promotion 
and sales staff could follow in short order. 

Smart managers will take precautions to head off losing their 
best people. First, if you don't have a Web site yet, start 
one.  Put all that talent to work for yourself instead of 
someone else.  

Next, utilize the power of the Internet as a promotional tool to 
help gain market share while, at the same time, keeping your 
existing staff sharp as they explore new and innovated ways of 
honing their skills.  Adding a Web site to your station can give 
your staff the creative freedom to express there ideas in a 
totally new marketing medium.  

Plan for the future by including the Internet in your business 
plans now.  Web sites can become a your station's first crucial 
link to a new interactive television service.  Adding this new 
dimension to you arsenal of services will also attract creative 
talent to your station.

Lastly, always keep Internet skills in mind while hiring. Your 
technical staff, for instance, should be well versed in dealing 
with computers and computer related problems. Computer literacy 
may very well become an absolute minimum requirement for most 
positions.  

Review your operating and capital budgets and make sure you're 
reasonably funded for computers, training and increased 
salaries, so that you can have a chance in keeping your most 
valuable asset, your staff.