Dorothy Bland at USA Today. (Submitted photo)
Name calling, a dead rat and a stalker. What do they all have in common?
No, this is not a quiz for an episode in “How to Get Away With Murder,” and I’m certainly not the angry black woman in America.
I became a news junkie as a child and have lived through all these experiences over the last 35 years in journalism as a reporter, editor and publisher. Do not call me a victim as each of these experiences has made me stronger.
I owe much gratitude to Florestine Purnell, the reporter I succeeded at the Rockford Register Star in Illinois in 1980. For more than a year I was called “Flo” because a white male state’s desk editor praised Flo as the only black woman reporter in that 1970s newsroom. Dorothy sounds nothing like Florestine, but to him my first name was not worth remembering. No matter how many times I corrected him, he didn’t seem to get it. It was a lesson in micro-aggression faced by many journalists of color. No, we don’t all look, sound or act alike.
To make matters worse, another colleague had the audacity to call me a “culturally deprived colored girl from the South” in that newsroom. Being an Arkansas native, pumps were not high on my list of wardrobe staples that day. Although I had not taken up kickboxing lessons at the time, let’s just say the verbal tango ended quickly and he didn’t cross me again.
The lesson: Speak up.
Thank God for mentors such as Gary Watson and Peter Pritchard who saw my strong work ethic and potential. Their recommendations helped take my reporting and editing skills to USA Today. The staff at the nation’s newspaper was certainly more diverse, but I got a rude awakening when I was venting with a colleague about “working my behind off” on a story in the 1990s. He eyed my backside and ended the conversation with “what a nice one you have.” From that day on, I never used that phrase again.
The lesson: Watch your language and steer clear of vultures.
I will never forget receiving a dead rat in my mailbox shortly after I moved from the newsroom to become the manager for USA Today’s Library and Information Center. Some colleagues thought I’d lost my mind when I told them I was leaving the newsroom. It was more important for me to answer the question of “Can you run a business?” I figured as long as I was in Washington, D.C., I should get a graduate degree and the MBA was my choice to keep my options open. In hindsight, it was the right decision because Gannett’s tuition reimbursement program helped pay for it and the degree raised my potential to become a publisher.
The lesson: Take advantage of company benefits, including tuition reimbursement policies and 401(K) plans. Also, if you ever get a chance for a stretch assignment with numbers and profit/loss responsibilities, take it.
After working as an assistant to a group president, I will never forget getting the offer to become a Gannett publisher. Curtis Riddle was the group president who made the offer over a tuna sandwich in O’Hare Airport. The next day I was headed for the Chillicothe Gazette in Ohio with Mary Parks Stier. Within two years, Gannett moved me to the Fort Collins Coloradoan as publisher.
The lesson: Be mobile and flexible.
Dorothy Bland. (Submitted photo)
In Fort Collins, we got to transform the company culture, launch coloradoan.com and develop one of the most diverse management teams in my career. One of the joys of being a leader is empowering others to live their dreams. However, I also became the target of a stalker who thought he deserved a job. No, he didn’t get the job. Thank goodness for the FBI and law enforcement folks.
The lesson: Keep cool even when you’re fearful for your life.
After earning three Gannett rings for excellence as a publisher, completing a building and juggling major life changes with my mom, Gannett and I decided to part ways in 2005.
The lessons: Nothing lasts forever and you can reinvent yourself.
As I entered the third phase of my career, I chose to move into higher education and have reinvented myself as a journalism educator. Every person should invest a bit in developing and expanding your network on a regular basis. In 2014, I participated in the Journalism and Women Symposium, where I saw Gayle Reaves, the managing editor of the Fort Worth Weekly and a University of North Texas graduate student. The beauty of JAWS is “you’re dealing with people who change the world,” she said and I tweeted.
Indeed, the news and information industries are facing disruption and so is higher education. Learning has always been my major.
Dorothy Bland is the dean of the UNT Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism and director of the Frank W. Mayborn Graduate Institute of Journalism. Prior to becoming a journalism dean she worked as a reporter, editor and publisher. She has earned a variety of reporting awards and was a three-time Gannett ring winner for excellence as a publisher.
Editor’s note: This essay is the first in a series on women in leadership in journalism. Dorothy Bland and the other essayists were chosen based on their proposals. Each woman will receive $200 for their essay. You can read our past articles on women in leadership here.
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