I’m on a panel at the PRCA National Conference in Manchester this Thursday talking about ‘how mainstream media is adjusting to the new world’.

Given that I haven’t worked in journalism since the web was in its relative infancy, I’m probably not best placed to comment directly, so it’ll be more of a PR’s view of media change and how it impacts and challenges clients, as well as my views on journalism.

One factor that seems to be shining through from the initial correspondence about the topic is that the sheer volume of interaction with the audience by social media is something that threatens to overwhelm mainstream media. All part of the media’s modernisation pains no doubt, but nonetheless one that’s worthy of proper thought now rather than waiting for the floodgates to be breached.

To be honest, when I was a journalist encounters with actual readers were rare. And when they did happen, it was normally someone with too much time on their hands complaining about errors in the crossword.

Now though, it’s increasingly common for the audience to participate in the story. And just like those calls from nutters (I know that’s politically incorrect, but that was the common term in the office) with a story idea or a comment on a story that had run, the challenge for the media today is to sort the wheat from the chaff. To work out what really matters to their readers writ-large and why.

Some early input from Sarah Hartley of The Guardian who’s going to be on the panel is that the scope and volume of social media looks mountainous for both journalists and their employers. The latter need to balance “desire to participate, transparency and maintenance of value”. The journalists have unprecedented access to readers, but participating in those conversations is tricky as there are so many of them.

If social media continues to grow in popularity and mainstream media continues to digitise, this will just be the thin end of the wedge.

For me, the challenge is for mainstream media not to get carried away by listening exclusively to the slice of their audience that is currently using social media in deciding what content to carry or how to write it. Editorial control must modernise too, but control must be retained rather than letting, potentially, a braying mob dictate perception and reputation. Beyond this though, consumers are starting to encroach on the conventional role of journalists though, by rating products and services themselves. Tapping into that rather than letting it rule the day is a big challenge for regular media. And one of many.

More on Thursday. The panel will be chaired by the BBC’s Matthew Eltringham, a social media pioneer amongst journalists. For conference details (if you’re in PR, you’ll surely have had these already) are here.