(Left to right) Phil Balboni, president and chief executive officer of GlobalPost.com; Dave Andelman, Phantom Gourmet host and creator; David Epstein, GrowingWisdom.comcreator; WGBH reporter Jared Bowen ’98; Boathouse Group advertising executive Brent Turner; and Jane Pikor, Emerson’s TRF production manager.

A panel of National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences members recently spoke to an audience of Emersonians in the Di Bona Studio in Emerson’s Tufte Performance and Production Center.

The panel included Phil Balboni, president and chief executive officer of GlobalPost.com and founder of New England Cable News (NECN); WGBH reporter Jared Bowen ’98; Phantom Gourmet host and creator Dave Andelman; GrowingWisdom.com creator David Epstein; and Boathouse Group advertising executive Brent Turner.

The panel members spoke about their careers in media, how they got started, and how they continue to expand and grow with the changing news climate.

Balboni opened the discussion by telling the audience about his newest venture, GlobalPost.com, a website dedicated to reporting global news. The content on GlobalPost.com is created by a community of in-country correspondents who adhere to the highest standards of journalism he said.

“Innovate, look for new ideas, be smart about how you build them, and don’t be afraid to try,” Balboni advised the audience. “The future is one step, one entity, one business model at a time….Journalists must take hold of the future and build new models of journalism. They should be the ones to build the next generation of high quality news, and the Internet’s the only way to do it.“

Boathouse Group advertising executive Brent Turner encouraged students to forge strong relationships with peers and employers. “It’s not networking. It’s about relationships. Big difference. That’s where you live and die.”

Dave Andelman, creator of Phantom Gourmet, a local television program that reviews New England-area restaurants, said his take on the media is different. “If it’s 90 degrees out, you can’t keep serving soup. I think that’s what the media does,” Andelman said. He advised students to learn everything they can, work hard, and read The Wall Street Journal daily. “I’m sorry, but it’s a business, and the people you’re going to talk to….It’s all about money.“

Balboni agreed with Andelman on the importance of acting as an entrepreneur. “If you want to be successful today, you have to be tough on cost,” Balboni noted. “Journalism entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart.“

WCVB meteorologist and GrowingWisdom.com creator David Epstein said, “I hear this theme…diversify yourself. Don’t think of yourself as being one thing.” He told students to act on their ideas. “Don’t think that we’re special,” he continued. “I’m really you guys, just a few years later.”