As the internship coordinator for the Connecticut office of my firm, Co-Communications, I’ve interviewed a number of candidates. The one question I always ask no matter what?

“What kind of media do you consume?”

I’ve received a variety of answers and I consider myself fortunate to have never heard, “um, I don’t really read or watch the news…”

So why is this such an important question for intern and job candidates? The type of media consumed by an individual can be very indicative of how they might function with a specific type of client (I‘m not saying it‘s the end all, be all).

Let’s be honest, when I was in college, the main media I was consuming was Us Weekly to give my brain an “entertainment” and “ooh pretty pictures” break from my academic texts. I was also very busy and never able to watch that much television news. I now handle a variety of clients but a large portion of my work is done with real estate. Did I read Real Estate Weekly prior to working at my job? No. Would it have helped? It could not have hurt, right?

Generation Y has plenty of stereotypes. One association we most likely cannot part from? We are the Facebook Kids (and Google, and MySpace, etc.). So, is social media the only media Gen Y is soaking up? Nahh (please, nahh?). But I’m sure it’s a large portion.

My point? Consume media. Soak it up. Yes, I learned about the plane crash in the Hudson and Tiger’s infidelity via Twitter. But I’m also sure to keep on top of my reading of traditional print and watch television news shows. It’s my job as a PR professional!

So where do you fit in and what are your thoughts? Are you a young professional who relies primarily on social media for your news and information? Are you an experienced professional who sees a drop in the consumption of traditional media from where it “once was?” Can we as Generation Y prove otherwise?

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