We checked in with Jungah Lee, a technology reporter from Bloomberg’s Seoul bureau who attended the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this year. Lee, who has reported for Bloomberg for the past year, discussed technology reporting and the trends to watch.
What initially drew you to reporting on the tech field?
I had covered South Korea’s economy before I joined the tech field in late 2009. Technology is considered as one of the most challenging beats globally, so I was very excited to cover the sector. At the same time, I can’t deny that I was a bit overwhelmed by the strong demands and the never-ending interest in the industry.
I am not a techie type of person. I don’t really enjoy changing things as much and don’t often get excited over new electronic gadgets in stores. However, that encouraged me to take up the job because I can see and interpret things more simply and from the users’ point of view.
Generally, what type of coverage do you provide for Bloomberg
Although I provide all technology-related news from Seoul, including phones, TVs, chips, displays and telecommunications, my biggest focus is Samsung, which sells literally everything on earth anyways, from smartphones, TVs, chips, home appliances and displays.
Often, the most interesting news from Samsung is about its flagship smartphone Galaxy S5, ongoing legal fights with Apple and the company’s overall business outlook as it faces growing pressure and challenges from all sides amid slowing demand for high-end smartphones.
How important is location in terms of breaking news stories in tech?
It sometimes matters and sometimes not. In terms of breaking news stories, it’s always good to be nearby because breaking news doesn’t usually come out from the official websites but mostly through your close internal sources or outside sources living in a same time zone as you – especially those that know that you are closely watching the company. It’s not only the physical location that I am talking about, it’s also that of building ongoing trust with your sources.
What trends were most apparent to you at CES?
I think it was all about connectivity among devices. Not just connecting your phones with tablets but also to other product categories, such as home appliances like TVs, refrigerators, air-conditioning units or washing machines – even cars or ourselves. As we are living in a dynamic, unpredictable world and leading fast-paced lives, people want to stay connected more than ever.
Outside of what you saw at CES, what are the most interesting trends in tech?
Cars. It was fascinating to see how two different industries can be converged so beautifully into one another and make our lives so much fun and convenient. At this rate, some technological breakthrough only seen in science-fiction movies may come alive in the not-so-distant future.
When covering such a fast-moving field, how do you stay ahead of new developments?
It certainly is difficult to keep abreast of all the latest developments in the tech industry. All I can say is ‘enjoying’ is the best policy.
This means you need to enjoy keeping yourself updated with the latest news by keeping watch over other companies’ businesses. You need to find out what it means to the overall industry going forward and most important of all, enjoy being the first to get hold of the new and advanced technology before anyone else on the planet!