FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2008
A Shout Out to a Quiet Leader
The
Rockford Register Star made news recently. Management announced the paper's first major
staff reduction through buyouts, not a happy prospect, but one that reflects the business realities of our times. The tough news comes on the heels of something far more bright.
The paper earned a major accolade: it was named
Gatehouse Media's "2007 Newspaper of the Year" by a panel of judges at the University of Missouri. Editor Linda Grist Cunningham's team was cited for its Web-first approach, its breaking news strength, the diversity represented in its coverage of the community, and its design strength.
I've come to know and admire the paper's managing editor, Lil Swanson. We first met when she was shepherding the efforts of
NewsTrain, the
Associated Press Managing Editors' nationwide newsroom training project. I taught sessions for Lil, and marveled at her organizational skills, her grace under pressure, and her thoughtful leadership. Lil's a petite woman with a soft voice, yet she could command the attention of a room filled with noisy journalists and keep her stable of trainers feeling motivated and appreciated as we worked for her. Lil went on from NewsTrain to the
Detroit News as online editor, a whole new world for this veteran editor at newspapers large and small. Last year, Lil and husband Dave Warner moved to Rockford as the paper's ME and Metro Editor. (Managing your spouse -- that's another topic Lil can share with us in the future.)
Lil's also a
Poynter Ethics Fellow (2007 class), and was recently with us at the Institute. Once again, in a room filled with accomplished, outspoken journalists, I observed Lil's understated style. Unlike some of us who think by speaking and form ideas as we hear ourselves deliver them, Lil thinks carefully and then offers her ideas. She seems to take great care to make certain that other voices are heard and is careful to never step on people's ideas. Make no mistake, she voiced strong opinions on ethics cases we were discussing, but with a gift for engaging thought, not shutting it down.
Bombastic bosses often think that their volume, sarcasm, or ability to terrify is what gets them results. There's plenty of literature out there that says they're wrong, and I've written about the
fear factor as failure before.
These days in Rockford, the management and staff of the
Register Star are proud of their recognition, and Lil sent a note to her Poynter friends with the simple message: "We are doing some cool things at a mid-size paper."
So, would you like to hear a non-screaming newsroom leader explain her philosophy? Here on SuperVision, she shares it:
