By Gregory Favre
Every time a group of talented and committed journalists comes through the leadership seminars at Poynter, I am convinced more than ever that we must continue to do all we can to keep our best and brightest in our newsrooms. Continue to find ways to challenge them, to give them opportunities to grow and to reward them.
If we don't, we will have failed -- failed ourselves, failed our industry, failed those who will come after us.
I've shared a number of thoughts and ideas, my own and from others, on this subject of grooming and retention in the past. I want to add a few more collected from leaders who came to Poynter to talk about what we should be doing.
Here's Allen Parsons, executive editor and associate publisher of the Wilmington Star in North Carolina:
The Indigo Girls sing that the hardest things to learn are the least complicated. I question this. My theory is that the least complicated things aren't so hard to learn. They are just hard to remember to put into practice.
So, practice what you preach. Become distracted or unfaithful to your beliefs, and talented people, if you lure any to begin with, will drift away.
Communicate what you value. Nobody hears what you don't say.
Know your people. Find reasons to bring groups of staffers together with you. If you don't schedule face time, it won't happen.
Don't expect perfection. Use journalism as the common language when you talk across differences. Don't make people wonder. They will leave ambiguity in search of clarity.
From Melissa Jordan, senior editor for recruiting and training at the San Jose Mercury News:
It's easy to lose sight of the people in the day-to-day pressures of the newsroom. But anecdotal evidence, as well as some hard data, tells us our people are craving more growth and development in their careers to stay happy and motivated to do their best work.
They want to be involved and engaged and listened to. These are not new ideas. The question is, why are we still not doing it, and how can we do it better?
We have a pretty tough, hard-noised culture in our business, and we generally reward those who are independent and self-sufficient. But I am convinced that there are some generational and cultural shifts going on that will require us to change that culture to attract and retain the top talent, and particularly to improve our diversity in the newsroom. The newsrooms that can make it happen are the ones where the best and brightest will want to work.
From Jim Herman, assistant managing editor for staff development at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle:
Focus on the future by branding newspapers as dynamic information companies eager to adapt to a changing marketplace. America's best and brightest are visionaries. Give them a dream to share.
Invest in people by teaching them new skills — preparing them to contribute to the newsrooms of the future. Show journalists how to use a variety of media to tell their stories. Future leaders value knowledge. Give them something to learn.
Continue to stand for something. And do what it takes to make sure that those who gather the news reflect the diversity of the communities they cover.
From Carl Redman, managing editor of The Advocate in Baton Rouge:
The key to keeping our best and brightest is to create a newsroom culture where qualities such as hard work, innovation, leadership, and risk-taking are clearly valued. A fundamental step that we must take to keep our best people is to ask them what they want and need and then help them get it.
And Kate Kennedy, of the Freedom Forum, sent a list she ran across concerning the mindset of the students who entered college last year. It's a long list. Here are just a few items from it.
To these students, Paul Newman has always been a salad dressing. Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents. They have never been able to find the "return" key. Test tube babies are now having babies. Computers have always fit in their backpacks. And Yuppies are almost as old as hippies.
Recently, I was in a conversation with two young journalists, both of whom are among our best and brightest. We were discussing the actor Ed Asner's appearance at a Poynter-Annenberg conference on covering celebrities. Ed Asner. You know, the guy who played Lou Grant on TV?
As the talk continued, they simultaneously blurted out, "Who is Lou Grant?"
For a moment, I really felt my age. I remember Lou Grant fondly. And Mary and Ted and Murray. And those in Lou's second newsroom. But I can't name a single "Survivor." Never watched it. Or "American Idol." Or "The Apprentice." Heck, I even skipped the Super Bowl halftime show to take a walk. I still love Tony Bennett and Ella Fitzgerald and Broadway musicals, and I read three newspapers every day.
What does this mean? It means we can, and we must, listen and learn from each other. Fill in the blanks for each other. Help each other to grow and to guard our values. Every generation with the next.
...all I can say is take advantage of internships while...
