During the first keynote of the final day of XPONENTIAL 2022, journalists from various outlets joined together on stage to discuss the topic of reporting on autonomy. The representative panel featured: Jacob Demmitt, U.S. marketing and communications manager, Wing - who served as the moderator, Paul Brinkmann, staff reporter, Aerospace America magazine, Frederic Lardinois, editor with TechCrunch, and Marco Santana, founder, Orlando Tech News. 

The assembled panel covered the topic of reporting on autonomy from each of the journalist's perspectives.  It also explored best practices and tips in working with the press, journalists, marketing professionals, and public relations professionals.  Marco Santana said he strives to make topics and stories most appealing to readers.  This means writing in language and tone that is appealing and comprehensible by readers.

Frederic Lardinois of TechCrunch explained that his publication reaches readers globally and covers stories about companies who are venture funded or trying to find a subsequent round of venture funding, but they also follow such companies over time as they advance and grow.  The impetus of many good stories, he says, is to take a local story or one that is very specific and bring it into the national spotlight to his readers who may hot have otherwise encountered the company, their technology, or the story they must tell.

Lardinois also noted that TechCrunch has covers a broad spectrum of technology and writes about everything tech - from drones, scooters, and to different computing venues. 
 

Tell Interesting Stories with the Reader in Mind

Paul Brinkmann of Aerospace American described his publication as a trade publication with a stronger accent on the technical insights of aerospace, which includes autonomy.  Readers include engineers as well as others who are more interested in more details and facts about the underlying technology or venue reported on.  He typically interviews engineers and may explore the topic deeper as he learns more to move the story further along.  For instance, he referenced his recent article on the James Webb Space Telescope which "flew past the moon's orbit Monday and is to begin unfolding its tennis court-sized sun shield."  His topics and writing are written about interesting topics of interest to aerospace professionals within the trade.

Moderator Jacob Demmitt posed the idea that there is a "honeymoon" period when new technology is introduced.  At the outset the technology is novel, new, different, and interesting.  However, over time, the honeymoon ends, and readers want to know the progress and movement of the technology.  The honeymoon always ends and often journalists begin to ask harder questions about it in latter months and years as new technology concept take form and take on age.

Frederic Lardinois said that there's often a "second bump" that is a follow on to an earlier reporting of the initial tech introduction.  It's important to explore the deliverables that arise from the technology. Jacob Demmitt mentioned that technology tends to come in cycles. He said there's much hype now about air taxis.  But as air taxis come online, there's more concern as to how they will operate together with drones. 
 

Don't Oversell

When new and intriguing technology is first introduced, there is a tendency to oversell it, talk all about it, and keep squeezing every drop of juice out of the fruit of it.  Frederic Lardinois, however, cautions that overselling can be "massively dangerous."  He says doing so will catch up with you sooner or later and the progress and integration of the deliverables and products associated with it. 

All panelists emphasized that it’s important to true subject matter experts in the conversation, and not just marketing and public relations professionals as the experts and technologists serve as a solid source of information.  Summarily, it was a great source of information and advice that all within XPONENTIAL could benefit from.