Steve McComish now runs Pressman Public Relations after a successful career in newspapers, at the Nottingham Evening Post and Derby Evening Telegraph, the Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Sunday Telegraph.

During a visit to one of my erstwhile employers the Nottingham Evening Post I was reminded of how technology has changed the face of the media in recent years.

I joined the paper as a rookie reporter in the 1990s (or a cub, as we used to be called). Mobile phones were just coming in, although anyone who had one was considered a flash git. I remember the editor acquiring two early Nokias which were used as "pool phones".

That meant they sat in a little box on the newsdesk and a reporter would take one with them when they went out on a story so they could give the desk a "heads up" if the story looked like a winner. Of course with only two phones between a staff comprising around 30 reporters, it meant more often than not there was no phone available.

Those were the days of having to find a payphone to call into copytakers. Now copytakers are no more and every reporter has their own mobile.

But perhaps the biggest change of all since my day is the demise of the fax machine. Back in the 90s the fax was the hub of the newsroom. Reporters would loiter suspiciously around it in the hope of pinching an incoming story marked for the attention of a colleague before he or she got their hands on it. One chap I recall was particularly skilled at this form of "story rustling" earning himself the nickname "The Fox".

Now though the once coveted fax machine is gathering dust in the cellar and everyone receives information by e-mail. How much easier it must be for young reporters who now just have to cut and paste. No tedius keying-in like in my day. They don't know they're born.

What goes around comes around and I can remember "oldies" saying exactly the same thing to me back then. They couldn't believe how easy we had it with computers on our desks instead of the old style manual typewriters. I can only imagine how hard that must have been.

Having to tipex out typos or worse, start again. Yes our PCs were the size of your Nan's TV, the display had one colour - a sickening shade of green, and e-mail hadn't arrived yet. But at least we could word process our stories. We would compete with one another to write the most words each day.

My record was a RSI inducing 6,000 words. Young reporters these days probably manage that before morning conference thanks to the wonders of cut and paste.

It's either an "exciting" or a "frightening" time for newspapers depending on who you talk to. The arrival of the internet has led to a drop in sales as more people choose to read their news online.

The dilemma for papers is, do they embrace the new age and seek to make their website into a leading resource for people seeking news - effectively giving their product away for free and therefore forcing them to rely more heavily on advertising.

Or do they stick with the traditional media and run the risk of becoming obsolete in an increasingly digital age?

I think the Evening Post seems to have made the right decision. Their website is widely regarded as THE site to visit to find out what's happening in Nottingham.

It felt good to be back there yesterday. It hadn't changed all that much. The computers are slimmer, meaning more desk space and the "pool" Nokias have long since disappeared along with the fax, but apart from that it was almost as if I hadn't left for the nationals all those years ago.

I wonder where "The Fox" is now? I bet he's missing his trusty fax.

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