The UW-Eau Claire chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists has accomplished a goal it has had for more than a year – it presented the topic of media convergence to Eau Claire students and staff.

Robert Utnehmer of Sturgeon Bay informed attendants of the growing trend Wednesday. He explained that media convergence is the combination of a variety of local media into one group, creating one method of communication.

While Utnehmer’s vision of different media combinations has been successful, he still refers to it as a fairly small market.

Utnehmer turned his vision into a reality two years ago. His optimism led him to his position today, owner of three radio stations, WRLU, WRKU and WBDK, as well as owner of a Web outlet, doorcountydailynews.com.

“For the future, it makes sense to combine radio with the Web,” he said.

At the beginning of Utnehmer’s project, he had one goal: to go back to the local market.

He often called himself an optimist and said he believes the future of radio will be based on localization.

He said the current generation lives in a society of mp3s and iPods, a digital realm consumed by the Internet. Utnehmer added he’s fully aware the generation also doesn’t listen to the radio and that they are missing out on daily news.

Utnehmer has found a way to tie the Internet world of today to the radio frequencies of yesterday. On his three stations, he presents local news 13 times a day. Utnehmer ties the newscast to his Web site, bringing together the two generations.

Utnehmer has created a Web site that combines three aspects of the media-run society: print, broadcast and the Internet.

“When we write a story, we pair with the text real audio of our source,” he said, adding this creates an up-to-date appeal for younger generations.

Another aspect of his company is sales. He wanted to build a business in which his sales staff was the single most important thing.

“The opportunity to marry our sales force with the Internet is the future,” he said.

With his outlets, Utnehmer’s clients are able to run ads on all three forms of media. He said the thought of advertising on both the radio and the Internet is very compelling to businesses.

His business was compelling to SPJ’s president senior Sarah Krans as well, who described his philosophy as enlightening.

“He is a prime example of a small town owner doing ground breaking work,” she said. “Putting the three media together with that small of a market is something to really strive for.”

Utnehmer had an attitude that appealed to students. He wanted them to leave with the security of knowing their generation can make it in this business, Krans said.

He said he had one expectation for his staff – to excel and improve.

“I work with my staff,” he said. “I commit to helping them, and they commit to getting better.”

Utnehmer said if society picks up the trend, his company could be a sneak preview to the rest of the market because of the apparent correlation between localism and profit. He left the audience with the notion that he would not be changing his philosophy.

“I just can’t imagine doing anything different than what I do.”