News staffs are smaller, available information more extensive and customer expectations higher than ever before, said panelists at the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Power Breakfast on Tuesday.

The breakfast’s topic, “Blame the Media!,” was a look at the opportunities and challenges in news reporting in the age of the Internet and social media. Panelists represented the newsrooms of six local media outlets: Port City Daily, the Business Journal, StarNews, WHQR Public Radio and TV news stations WECT and WWAY.

A common theme among the panelists was the impact of the Internet – especially social media – on news reporting. The increasing numbers of people turning to the outlets for information expect rapid delivery of news and updates, panelists said.

“By the time the 5 o’clock news comes on, it’s old news,” said Frances Weller, an anchor at WECT. “People see the story then, but they’ve already heard about it. Social media has taken us to a different level ... Instagram, Facebook, Twitter keep us on our toes.”

“Facebook is our primary social media promoter, along with Twitter,” said Caroline Curran, managing editor of Port City Daily. “We’re working harder and people are consuming information differently.”

When she started in journalism, Vicky Janowski said she chased stories armed with a pen and notepad. Since the Internet, said the Business Journal editor, covering a story involves making notes, taking a photo, sending a live tweet and posting online.

“There’s no deadline per se now,” she added. “You have minutes to prepare [a story].”

Weller talked about the tension between making sure that reporters get their facts straight, even as the news staff is trying to get stories out faster, competing with themselves as well as with other news organizations. The newsroom’s “big board” she said, shows what WECT stories people are clicking on online, which are not always the stories in the broadcast lineup.

Because of its very small news staff, WHQR relies for much of its local news coverage on other media outlets, said Rachel Lewis Hilburn, the public station’s news director. “The Internet has given us more access to our media partners. Breaking news is not our sweet spot.”

Instead, the station tries to get at the issues behind the breaking stories in its weekly “Coastline” news program, she said.

At WWAY, news director Kevin Wuzzardo said, there is a difference between the station’s online and on-air audiences, making it necessary for his staff to decide what stories to feature online and what stories to cover during news broadcasts.

And while viewers will say they want positive stories, Wuzzardo continued, often the stories that generate the most audience engagement are more sensational ones. He cited his viewers’ interest in the recent zipline accident that took the life of a 12-year-old Wilmington girl, and the three incidents in which a shark or sharks injured three young people.

“Conflict is important,” he said, pointing out that compelling stories, whether positive or negative, resonate with viewers.

Knowing how far to pursue a story, or knowing when your efforts don’t result in a story, is key to being fair to your audience, several panelists said.

“Once they get on to something, it’s hard to calm a reporter down,” said Pam Sander, the StarNews’ executive editor. She talked about the need to keep pressing on issues that affect the way taxpayers’ money is being spent – a theme emphasized also by Weller.

The Power Breakfast, held at the Wilmington Convention Center, attracted an audience of several hundred.