A recent Poynter participant shrugged his shoulders and wondered aloud if anyone had ideas about managing people older and more experienced than he.
I can identify with that situation. When I became an assistant city editor, I had seven years in the business, but several of the reporters on my team had probably three times that experience. These reporters were colorful, tough, street-wise and dedicated. They had a strong sense of their journalistic mission — get good stories, uncover the bad guys, be out on the streets, make Page One.
They had worked over their years with tough-minded, demanding editors.
And here I was — 31, a couple years at the paper, small-town newspaper experience before that.
Your circumstance may have different characteristics. But it’s likely you experience the same lack of confidence I felt. How could I direct these reporters? They seemed larger than life in some ways. What did I have to offer?
I clearly recall one day when one of the reporters was really steamed about an editing change. As I saw him approaching, I considered my alternatives. The one I wanted to choose was to crawl under my desk. I didn’t. I listened. He was right. I had changed the meaning of a point in his story.
I survived. I listened to and respected these reporters. And they came to respect me.
Luckily, for front-line editors, there’s a research project that can give you some insight about tenured reporters and their needs and concerns. The research and subsequent report were compiled by Dr. Sharon Peters, who was just named editor of The Colorado Springs Gazette. She has most recently been a media consultant and was managing editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader. She also has been an adjunct professor at Northwestern University’s Media Management Center since 1996.
In the late 90s, she conducted several-hour interviews with 20 senior-level reporters across the country.
Here were some of the themes she developed from what the reporters said that might give you ideas about working effectively with them.
• They want their editors to challenge them:
“My standards for myself are higher than the editors, and I’m scared of their tolerance.”
“You generally rise to the level of expectation. You can put that on yourself or someone else can put it on you…it’s great when someone else pushes…”
“I do a check regularly….if you think I’m losing it, or not contributing, you must tell me.”
” I often take a good hard look at what other people out there are doing, and compare it to mine. I need to know if I still measure up.”
• They long for constructive feedback:
“I like collaboration. I try to make editors feel free to say what they think, but most feel overwhelmed and overworked so if you’re decent they leave you alone.”
“I love an editor who can duke it out over a story. I’m not challenged enough in the editing process.
“I don’t get enough, good or bad. I especially wish they’d say it directly when they’re disappointed.”
• They are concerned about the young reporters and that may provide an opportunity for you to invite their help.
“No one’s monitoring them the way we were watched.”
“I get so frustrated when I see them making the same kinds of mistakes day after day, the kinds that could be corrected with minimal attention.”
• Two-thirds of the reporters interviewed have very real fears about aging.
“I’m afraid of growing less sharp mentally.”
“I fear losing my drive as I grow older.”
“I’m afraid I’ll lose the edge.”
I highly recommend the handbook Dr. Peters wrote from the interviews. She offers insight beyond these headlines — insight that can help you view your tenured reporters in new ways.
The book is “In Their Prime,” available from the Media Management Center at Northwestern University, 1007 Church Street, Suite 500, Evanston, Ill., 60201. It also can be ordered by emailing m-konkel@northwestern.edu. The price is $8.00, plus shipping.
