I have been going to some journalism events since moving to Toronto. And in late May, I went back to Montreal for the Canadian Association of Journalists' (CAJ) conference. I love journalism and all I want to do is learn everything I can about the future of news. The media industry as a whole is not in a happy place right now, but I do believe new opportunities are emerging for journalists who like to try new things. So what exactly are these journalists talking about lately? The themes that keep coming up at their events are:

1. MOBILE: The smartphone market keeps growing. People can do more and more on their phones. How can we deliver the news people want, when they want it, and how they want it? The news industry missed the boat on the Internet. Let's not screw up mobile.

2. LOCATION: There's a reason why Foursquare just raised $20 million in venture capital. The potential for location-based applications is huge.

3. CURATION: Too much is on the Internet. How do you sort through the crap and get to the good stuff? News organizations are trusted brands that know how to filter.

4. & 5. ENGAGEMENT and INTERACTIVITY: The old ideas. Everyone has been talking about this pair for years. But they're still important. News is a two-way street now. You can't just tell people, "This is the news." The audience wants to help set the agenda and provide leads, expertise and content, all in real time.

I'm paraphrasing the smart speakers I've heard, including two innovative American journalists: Jim Brady and Rob Curley, who share many of the same ideas and have a talent for explaining them. Both of these journalists were invited to speak at CAJ events this year.

Jim Brady, one of the people behind the hyperlocal Washington, D.C., news site TBD.com, spoke at a CAJ event back in January. The CAJ managed to pull off an exciting, well-attended event in Toronto about innovation in the news industry.

Based on the success of that event, I was optimistic about CAJ's annual three-day conference in Montreal last month. Unfortunately, not too many other journalists were. The turnout was very low. I'd estimate that fewer than 50 people were there on the first day, although others showed up the next day. But that means they missed the excellent kickoff speech by Rob Curley of the Las Vegas Sun.

Now, the CAJ is having problems, and it is upfront about that.  But training has been slashed by newsroom cutbacks. So why wouldn't journalists want to support what is essentially a training day and networking event? And a good one, too, with respected journalists who "get it," like Kirk LaPointe, the Vancouver Sun's Managing Editor, and David Akin, who has signed on to Sun Media's new TV venture.

I guess many journalists, old AND young, aren't feeling supported, and they're forgetting to look to each other for that support. They're tired of the cuts, layoffs, barriers, and attitudes - and, above all, they are tired of being told to do more with less. However, if there is something we can all take away from this digital, entrepreneurial world of journalism, where nothing is as certain as it once was, it's that an investment in ourselves is never wasted.

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