Tom Huang has reported from Bosnia, Vietnam, Athens, the aftermath of 9/11 and Oklahoma City. Now, his expanded focus paves a path for the new generation, pairing dozens of mentors with mentees and leading 50 Poynter seminars — and counting.
When Huang entered journalism more than three decades ago, newsrooms looked and operated quite differently. In-person attendance was the default, not an option, and the most sophisticated pieces of equipment were landline phones and copy machines. But what these less-than-flexible spaces lacked in functionality, they made up for in learning opportunities where novices could observe veteran journalists at work firsthand.
To bridge the mentorship gap in modern, often virtual, newsrooms, Huang, assistant managing editor at The Dallas Morning News, leads Building Blocks: Critical Skills for New Reporters (previously known as Reporter’s Toolkit). The course equips early-career reporters with the skills they need to improve their craft and make a difference in their newsrooms. The registration deadline for this program that helps participants connect with a supportive journalism community is June 30.
Poynter’s Sabrina Shihvazger sat down with Huang ahead of the course’s launch to discuss his history with Poynter and what he hopes new reporters will gain from this resource.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Sabrina Shihvazger: How did you come to start teaching at Poynter?
Tom Huang: I started as a participant at Poynter back in 2002 and had this incredible opportunity to spend two weeks in St Petersburg. The first week was the Leadership Academy, which was run by a really incredible leadership faculty person, and I learned all about executive leadership skills. The following week, I was in the ethics fellowship. Back then, there was a year-long program that Poynter had to train ethics fellows, and that was the first week. My work as a participant was so beneficial and inspiring that I wanted to do more. At some point, Poynter invited me back as a guest faculty member and to write essays for the website. So I did that for a few years. I would teach in a couple of seminars a year. And in 2008, something amazing happened. I was given the opportunity to spend a sabbatical year at Poynter. The Dallas Morning News was gracious enough to give me a year to live in St Petersburg and teach at Poynter. That was a transformational year, because I worked with a lot of legendary faculty members who taught me how to teach, organize and lead seminars. So I probably taught more than 40 seminars that year that changed my life. Ever since, I’ve taught anywhere from three to five seminars at Poynter per year.
Shihvazger: Building Blocks, originally the Reporter’s Toolkit, is one of your foundational courses at Poynter. What is your vision for this program?
Huang: I want to give early-career reporters the best shot at launching their careers. I want them to have the foundational skills to make a difference in their newsrooms and in their communities, and that requires a lot of hard work, but also an investment in paying attention to what their needs are and giving them the time and the coaching.
When I came up as a reporter in the late 1980s, I was in newsrooms where veteran reporters would take me under their wing, and editors would sit down with me side by side and edit my stories. I learned so much from that. I learned from observing. I learned from eavesdropping and listening in on reporters. That’s harder to do now, because we’re all working in a hybrid environment. The flexibility is good, but it changes the way that we work together, and reporters who are just starting out have less of an opportunity to learn directly from veteran reporters and editors. The purpose of Building Blocks is to supplement that, to spark young reporters to think about how they can build their careers and get ready to launch.
Shihvazger: The coaching aspect is notable for Building Blocks. As a seasoned newsroom leader with a career in journalism that spans over 35 years, can you speak about advice you were given by your mentors when you were a novice?
Huang: I can think of many different things. Always put the reader first. My mentors would always talk about the importance of our community and trying to put our own egos aside and realize that this is mission-driven work, that we’re serving our communities. Every story we do, every challenge that we face in reporting, we just have to keep our community and our readers in mind, putting them first.
Another important lesson was making a difference in your newsroom. Even when you’re starting out, wherever you sit, you can be a leader. You don’t have to be a manager. That means speaking up for the things that you believe in, pushing for stories that you think we have to do, helping other people, supporting them as they do their own hard work. I think every early-career reporter can do that.
I think the third important thing ingrained in me was that mentorship is important because this is difficult work. When you’re just coming into a newsroom or wherever you work, always look for mentors. There are so many generous people in this industry, so take advantage of that and find them. It’s not just going to be one person who can give you everything, so find several people who can help you with a bunch of different skills.
Shihvazger: The Building Blocks curriculum explores topics like origin stories, research and reporting, and brainstorming, focusing and executing stories. How did you decide what to include?
Huang: The curriculum has evolved over time and is reflected in the work that I do every day and in my newsroom, because I’m constantly thinking about what early-career reporters need, and what order to put those lessons in. One of the most important parts of foundational skills is helping people understand where they came from, who influenced them, and why they are sparked to do this hard work. That’s where origin stories come into play. I’m a feature writer by my origins—I love telling stories, so origin stories have always been important to me. Then you think about how to generate fresh story ideas, because your own ideas will set you apart and make you stand out as a reporter. And then there’s the hard work of how you do the interviewing and research to vet your stories because we need to know. As an editor, I’m always asking my reporters, “How do you know that? Is that a fact?” And how can we back that up? Research, interviewing and reporting is really important. Once you have all of that material, how do you put it all together and focus it and think about what the story is truly about, the one that we’re trying to tell here?
Shihvazger: Who would get the most out of this program?
Huang: The primary audience is reporters who are in the first five years of their careers. There’s some flexibility there—there are certainly reporters who would get a refresher and a boost. But the target audience is reporters who are starting out, who want to build the foundational skills to prepare themselves for a great launch. There’s also an opportunity for mature college journalists who are graduating and entering this field, who really want to hone their skills.
Shihvazger: Reporters who took this program in the past have gone on to win prizes such as the Pulitzer. What qualities do you recommend nurturing to help reporters reach that level of success?
Huang: I was inspired to realize two young reporters who won the Pulitzer Prize this year attended my Poynter seminars in recent years, and I’ve kept in touch with them. When I think about them and other reporters like them, there are a couple of things that drive them towards success.
One is resilience. You know, as complicated and difficult as the times are, we need people in this field who are willing to learn and go through all the ups and downs of the business. So, resilience is first.
The second part is related, that they want to keep learning every day. I always say that — especially now — to succeed, you have to want to learn something new every day. And that can be uncomfortable when you’re struggling to figure things out. Even for myself, I’ve been doing this for 37 years, and I’m still learning every day. So that’s what makes all of this really interesting work, too. So there’s the resilience, there’s the lifelong learning.
The third ingredient is just being driven to serve their communities. I see these reporters who go above and beyond to get information that they know will help improve their community.
Shihvazger: What is the one piece of advice you’d give a new reporter?
Huang: Jump in, invest yourself and go all in on this work. It’s some of the most fun, joyful and rewarding work that you’ll ever do, and it’s really hard and stressful and frustrating, but it’s really worth it, and you’ll get to meet so many people that you report on who bring great meaning to your life. And then in the newsroom, you’ll get to work with some incredible, smart, driven people that you’ll be friends with for the rest of your life.
Registration for Building Blocks closes June 30. Seminar participants will receive asynchronous learning materials, meet weekly through 90-minute online sessions and 45-minute coaching sessions with veteran journalists.
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