The Observer's chief sports writer Kevin Mitchell delivered the University of Brighton's fourth Annual Sport Journalism Lecture with an eye firmly on the future facing the university's BA Sport Journalism students.

He reflected on the challenges in store for the next generation of journalists, a generation for whom writing and subbing their own stories, blogging and podcasting will all be part of the daily newspaper diet.

And he echoed the sentiments of Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger, who, while acknowledging that a "24/7" news operation was now obligatory for national newspapers, had emphasised to staff that readers still expected measured responses rather than rushed judgements.

Kevin offered plenty of encouragement to students, highlighting the way that the web had made a vast range of entry possibilities available to young journalists, while underlining that the national press still represents the pinnacle of the profession.