So I stammered a little, hemmed and hawed, and blathered some kind of “of course I can do the job” reply.

Perhaps I should have threatened legal action. On the other hand, an age-discrimination suit is probably not the best career move.

Thinking about it, I've decided I need a new and better strategy, because I'm not getting any younger, and this is going to happen again.

How does a veteran news professional market himself in a universe of twentysomething bloggers, tech-savvy eager beavers, and news directors roughly the age of my oldest necktie? Do we even speak the same language?

Yes and no.

Serious newspeople will always appreciate like-minded professionals, whatever their age. But some inevitable adjustments may be in order, and that's fine.

Two colleagues, both about my age, have reinvented themselves over the past couple of years. Each spent decades as a respected news director in a major city. One now runs a newspaper website. The other learned to build newsgathering apps. He had no background in app-making when he landed the job. But he knew his strengths. “Tech guys are a dime a dozen,” he told me. “News judgment is priceless.”

Some of us may not be ready or willing to totally chuck television newswriting in favor of uploading to a CMS, or tweeting to a 4-inch screen. But there's no harm in learning those things... and getting good at them. They are skills that enhance marketability. Just so long as the core remains what it has always been: judgment, experience, quality, and one more thing:

I call it “capacity.”

It's important to be the guy known for “getting it done.” The go-getter who seeks out and accepts the largest possible workload. The one who deftly handles anything thrown at him, no matter how overwhelming it seems. Put the younger folks to shame with your energy, while making the most of your hard-earned senior status, your broad knowledge, your long memory, and your willingness to help out anywhere, anytime, and most folks will ignore your chronological age.

I wrote that last paragraph with two other colleagues in mind. Let's call them “Bill” and “Sam.” I met them early in my career, worked side by side with them. They were both much older than I, and getting close to retirement.

Bill was kind of a slow-moving, lumbering guy who talked a lot, and complained even more. He never got very much done, and the managers more or less worked around him. Sam was the opposite. Short, wiry, full of enthusiasm, he turned out reams of great copy night after night, writing circles around his much younger co-workers. I remember thinking, “When I get to be their age, I hope I'm Sam, not Bill.”

Three decades later, I like to think there's more Sam than Bill in me. Communicating that energy and ability to future employers will remain a challenge. New tools help. Resumes now go online. Career reels migrate to YouTube channels. Whatever it takes to send out a clear message: Sure, the old dog can learn new tricks... but the old tricks are pretty darn good, too!

Would love to hear how you've handled similar situations.