Drag your newsroom into the future…kicking and screaming if necessary

OK. So you’re recently out of school or your internship and have landed in your first job as a working journalist. You walk in every day full of ideas and hope, ready to grab the world by horns and tell its story forty ways to Sunday.

But by the end of the first month you’re beat down, confused and ready to flip burgers for a living. This whole journalism thing falls incredibly short of your expectations.

What went wrong?

Was it the fact that when you interviewed for the job you were told that the company had embraced social media and emerging technology…and now you discovered it was false advertising? Was it the fact that your employer refused to let you have a Twitter account to use for work? Was it the fact that your idea to live blog city council stories flamed out without discussion because the idea was “too hard to implement and, besides, no one would read it”? Was it the fact that you took it upon yourself to shoot 10 minutes of captivating video at the pie-eating contest only to find out no one knew how post it on the publication’s website? Was it the fact that you pulled up the website every day and noticed it wasn’t getting updated regularly?

Choose any one or all of a thousand adjectives to express your disappointment, resentment and that completely dejected feeling in the pit of your stomach. Find a nice secluded spot and scream out your frustrations.

Then suck it up and make one of two decisions: (1) You’re going to drag this old-fart style newsroom into the modern age kicking and screaming, or (2) You’re going to get the hell out and find a smart place to work that is bent on not only surviving, but thriving.

Of course just going back to the status quo every day is an option, but I would question the career choice of any individual who chose that path.

Setting aside the daunting task of the job search, option #2 surely would be easier that option #1. You turn in your notice, work to the agreed-upon departure date, and you’re off to a brighter, more rewarding future elsewhere. A cinch, right?

But what’s easiest might not be the most rewarding. What if you could drag that stale, old newsroom into the year 2010 – and beyond? What if you could get just one or two other of your comrades to start the process with you? What if you could show the decision maker(s) the benefits of Twitter, Facebook and multimedia?

Think you can’t do it? You’re flat wrong. You can do it. It’s not a question of ability. It’s a question of desire.

If you look back at organizations that have transformed their newsrooms over the last decade (and continue to transform them, by the way), you’ll find less than a handful of names who got the ball rolling. You’ll find forward-thinking individuals who pushed for change because they saw what could be. On a shelf or in a desk, you’ll find a plan that changed the gut fiber of that newsroom. (The original is on a shelf or in a desk because version 12 is in the later stages of implementation and the draft of version 13 is almost finished.)

I’m convinced last-century newsrooms continue to outnumber newsrooms that have embraced innovation. That gives a lot of people a lot of chances to make a real impact in not only their companies, but also their communities. Do you have the drive and stamina to be one of those people?

I hope you answer with a resound, YES!

(Note: This post originally appeared in my journalism-focused blog.)

Lessons learned in trying times: A young, driven newsroom can teach you much

The arrival of summer in North Carolina means keeping a close eye on the tropics. Chances are that sometime during hurricane season you’ll be scrambling to make those last-minute preparations for the arrival of one of Mother Nature’s most powerful and intriguing forces.

July normally is not a terribly active hurricane month. But in 1996 Hurricane Bertha brewed up in the tropics in the seventh month and reached hurricane status on the seventh day. As she tracked west northwest out of the Atlantic Ocean, people all along the east coast of the United States began preparation for her pending arrival.

At The Free Press in Kinston, N.C., we were no different.

I was 19 months into my first editorship at a daily newspaper and had been fortunate enough to assemble what proved to be one of the best small-newspaper newsrooms in N.C., if not the country. Though few of the newsroom staff had any hurricane coverage in their young background, all eagerly anticipated Bertha’s advent, albeit with some trepidation.

By July 10 storm trackers increased the odds that Bertha would be rumbling through our territory.

They were right.

Bertha arrived July 12 with high winds, but fortunately less rain locally than anticipated. Because of an extraordinary amount of rain in the weeks prior to Bertha, however, the ground was already soggy. And that soaked soil meant the huge, old trees that are so much a part of Kinston had no chance.

Homes across town sustained the most damage because of those venerable trees falling on them. But in the grand scheme, Kinston and the surrounding area escaped with minimal damage. Our newsroom performed admirably.

Little did any of us know Bertha was just the appetizer.

Fast forward seven weeks.

Hurricane Fran skittered across the Atlantic on much the same path sister Bertha had taken. The closer she got to the mainland, the more likely it appeared we’d get our second hurricane in less than two months.

Sure enough, on September 5, 1996, Hurricane Fran made landfall close to Cape Fear on the southern North Carolina coast with sustained winds of 115 mph. She immediately began her curve to the northeast with Kinston in her sights.

That afternoon she roared through just west of us. That put Kinston on the east side of the storm which, for the uninitiated, is not the best place.

We got smacked again. But again, the wind damage wasn’t significant. In fact we wouldn’t realize the impact of Fran for several days.

This mid-season hurricane dropped 16 inches of rain as it slowly moved north through the state. Much of that rain fell along the northwest end of the Neuse River which runs through Kinston en route to the Pamlico Sound.

It didn’t take long for the warnings to come: We could expect flooding. The longer the warnings were posted, however, the direr they became.

We’d escaped real damage from the winds of Fran, but her rains would ultimately cause Kinston – and my newsroom – nightmares.

The forecasters were right on target.

I stood with the city manager on a moderately steep boat ramp before anything flooded and watched the water creep toward me at an alarming rate. Forecasters were predicting the river wouldn’t crest for a few more days.

We were in for a mess. But we had no idea.

Within 12 hours homes were being evacuated. Within 24 hours entire neighborhoods could be navigated only by watercraft. The extent of the flooding was almost incomprehensible. Only aerial photos published in the Free Press gave locals any idea of the extent of the inundation.

Several tobacco warehouses – already brimming with a season’s harvest – flooded, causing millions of dollars in losses. But maybe the most disturbing visual was caskets floating in the local cemetery. That, my friends, is a haunting sight.

Bertha, Fran and the flood presented a roll of calamities that heavily impacted the area for the better part of four months, and beyond.

That young, inexperienced Free Press newsroom set a standard for news coverage – and stamina! – in the days and weeks following these events.

Well before that summer they’d already proven they were a special group simply through their excellent beat work, their determination and their competitive nature.

But in the heat of the moment, that group stepped it up several notches that did not go unnoticed locally or nationally.

Work days often extended to 16 and 18 hours as they reported, assembled and disseminated every piece of information they could grab. No one complained about the hours. No one called in sick. No one dared do either for fear of appearing weak. And that newsroom would not tolerate weak, either in character or coffee.

Besides working with my managing editor, Caroline Waller, and Publisher Tom Porter (a former editor himself) to keep the circus in some kind of order, I also made sure I was in the field with everyone else. My photos of damage and flooding appeared alongside those of photographer extraordinaire Charles Buchanan. My writing fell mostly on inside pages, but that was by my own dictate since the reporters were putting together higher-impact pieces.

But through all the sometimes-organized chaos of the newspaper and the city, I tried to step back occasionally – if only for a brief moment – and simply observe my staff. In my observations I learned some important things and formulated some thoughts of my own that I would like to share:

• True journalists will always, always rise to the occasion without fail and without complaint. Their passion for their work shows in their understanding of the importance of their role in information dissemination.
• When you hire confident – some would even say cocky – journalists (those who truly have a reason to be confident), you must let them run and do what they do best…excel.
• Never underestimate the value of institutional knowledge.
• Never underestimate those with no institutional knowledge.
• Never underestimate the young and inexperienced.
• Never underestimate the power of a pot of strong coffee.
• The better the work environment you present, the better the hires.
• Hire the best people you can afford, share your vision, and then get the hell out of their way.
• A boss who will allow you to fail to allow you to learn is invaluable.

Besides the three folks I mentioned above, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to the rest of that newsroom: Scott Vanhorne (reporter), Matthew Karnitschnig (reporter), Kim Goins (reporter), Kari Whitfield (reporter), Steve Allen (page designer), Curtis Simpson (copy editor), Todd Murray (sports editor), John Ashley (sports), Mary Ellison Turner (lifestyle editor), Joann Turley (lifestyle) and Leigh Hannah (graphics).

This crew not only set the standard and shaped The Free Press for years to come, it taught me an awful lot about what great newsrooms look like, how they function, and that it really is possible to have fun and work hard at the same time.

NOTE: This post originally appeared in another blog by this author: ericthomason.wordpress.com)

Interviewing Eric (Rick) Thomason: Why he should be on your team

(NOTE: Eric (Rick) Thomason found his team. He’s joined the Journal Register Company as editor of the Register Citizen in Torrington, CT.)

Q. I did my research and see you spent more than 29 years with the same company, just in a variety of locations. After that long, why did you leave?

A. Believe me, it wasn’t my choice. Nor was it anything I did ‘wrong.’ Allow me some background as I answer. As the economy turned south, we made moves at both of my properties of responsibility (The Walton Sun and The Destin Log) to try to keep the businesses viable. After all, we were some of the shining stars of Freedom Communications just a few short years back. But times change. We consolidated duties, such as having one advertising director and one editor for both properties. We outsourced circulation to a sister daily. We combined our ad creation functions into one unit. We physically moved The Sun – under bankruptcy protection – to smaller and less expensive space to save thousands of dollars every month.

Through it all, the economy continued to decline in the Florida Panhandle and ad revenues fell at record rates.

In the end, the cuts and consolidations weren’t enough to offset the loss of dollars. The decision was made to cut from the top. That was me.

Q. After 29 years, are you bitter?

A. You know, I’m not. Some would say I have a right to be, but I’m not. Of course I would have liked to have gotten a better severance package, but I still came out better than so many people who’ve lost their jobs in this recession.

Over the years, Freedom – and I’m including my bosses and their bosses in the collective company – was quite good to me. Many opportunities came my way that I will always appreciate.

Q. What kinds of opportunities?

A. For instance: When I was editor of The Dothan (AL) Progress, I was given the opportunity to take the helm of a daily newspaper newsroom in North Carolina, though I had absolutely no daily paper experience. About a year later, I attended the Newspaper Management Center (now called the Media Management Center) at Northwestern University. That is a limited enrollment program that gives attendees a comprehensive dose of not only newspaper management knowledge, but also advanced business learning from two of the best schools (Medill and Kellogg, respectively) in the country. It’s expensive, but the company footed the entire bill.

Then I got a rare chance. I was asked to help start a new community weekly newspaper in Florida. As founding editor, I joined a group of seasoned professionals — some of them former co-workers from Dothan — to start a paper from scratch. As much work as that was, it was also one of the most rewarding assignments of my career.

Additionally, I got a shot at being a publisher in Mississippi at the Delta Democrat-Times in Greenville when Freedom owned that paper. And after the DDT was sold, I quickly got the chance to return to Freedom and the Florida group with which I was already familiar.

Those are the highlights. Along the way there were many, many more opportunities.

Q. Let’s steer away from your career history for a moment and look to the future. You’ve spent your entire career in the South. Yet you seem to be open to positions across the country. Do you think you’d be comfortable outside the South?

A. For me it’s not about where I live. That will probably change after I retire, but right now location is not a priority. What is important now is the work, but not just the work itself. It’s finding the right job where the job, the company and I are a right fit for one another.

I’ve been fortunate enough to have had jobs I thoroughly enjoyed. Not all of them were in garden spots by any stretch of the imagination, but home is what and where you make it. I still have great friends from every stop along the way and I continue to stay in touch and help those associates I had the pleasure of leading.

I’ve visited enough around the country to know I can fit in and work anywhere.

Q. Tell me a bit about your leadership style. What philosophy have you brought to your editor and publisher positions?

A. First and foremost, I don’t want to be a babysitter. If that’s what I have to be for a second-line manager, then I don’t need him or her on the team. I believe in hiring the absolute best talent I can afford, giving that individual guidance, then getting out of the way and allowing him or her latitude to do the job.

On a broader scale, I try to lead by example. I still quite enjoy writing and reporting a great deal. I’m an accomplished photographer and relish most any photo opportunity. Need a sales call made? No problem. Heck, I’d rather tackle cleaning a warehouse myself than take an editorial or advertising body off the street. I hope that by stepping up to the plate the filling in where I can, it sends a message to associates that I will do my best to help them succeed at their jobs. When they succeed, the company succeeds.

Q. You said something interesting there. You said you believe in hiring the best people you can afford. Most people say they hire the best people they can find.

A. I know. Finding great people is easy. But when you’re the editor or publisher of a small property, you can’t afford a lot of those people. So you have to look for the undiscovered gems. Finding those individuals is time consuming and real work, but it’s worth it when you identify them and get them on board. It’s really a lot of fun to watch people like that blossom when they’re given the chance.

Q. So you get them on board and they develop their skills. Then what?

A. (Laughs) The unfortunate reality is that they eventually leave!

Early in my career as a manager, it bothered me that I’d spend a ton of time coaching a young reporter, only to have them bail on me and head to a bigger property. But I came to realize that it’s actually a compliment – at least I’m taking it that way! – when an associate is lured away to a larger property. It means they have developed their skills to be worthy of a larger audience, and consequently a bigger paycheck than I can offer.

It’s actually pretty satisfying when I look back and see where former associates have landed.

Q. Say more about that. Where have they landed?

A. Let me give some examples from when I was editor of The Free Press in Kinston (N.C.). That was a young, energetic staff that pushed each other like no other group I’d seen before or have since seen. The internal competitiveness just astounded me. I think that’s what led to their individual successes.

Reporters and editors from that newsroom (11,000 circulation) have landed at the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., The State in Columbia, S.C., the Wall Street Journal (by way of Reuters), and the Washington Post (by way of the San Diego Tribune and the Boston Globe). Others left newspapers, but secured high-profile positions in public affairs and public relations. And another tapped her photo skills and her entrepreneurial spirit to open her own successful studio.

And there are plenty of other stories. Those are out of just one newsroom.

But the achievements of all of them make me so proud to have been a part of their career.

Q. You’ve said you want people around you who want your job. Are you serious when you say that? Aren’t you scared they will undermine you to get ahead?

A. I’m dead serious about that. As both an editor and publisher I always wanted ambitious people working for me, either directly or indirectly. Now, that doesn’t mean they wanted my job per se. It could mean they simply wanted to expand their abilities, improve their skills and do more and better. If one or any of them ever wanted to one day be an editor or publisher, then great!

I try to make it clear that I will do all I can to help associates advance their careers, no matter their job and no matter what they aspire to.

When I left Dothan, my sports editor took over as editor and did a fine job. When I left The Walton Sun and headed to Mississippi, a reporter on staff was promoted to editor and did an excellent job. My ad director in Mississippi was promoted to publisher.

I knew they all wanted those jobs. I hope I helped prepare them for their success.

As far as being scared they’ll undermine me…no. If you hire people with exemplary character, that won’t happen. If it does, it’s a termination offense. If they’re trying to undermine me, they’re trying to undermine the company, plain and simple.

Q. You talk a lot about the people who work for you.

A. I guess that’s true. I do. That’s because the work is not about me. It’s about enabling and encouraging others to do their best work so we can produce the best products possible. That’s my job.

Within what’s possible for me, keeping corporate worries at a distance is a priority. Having been with a company that went through the arduous bankruptcy process, I’ve seen how distracting that can be, even for reporters, ad reps and graphic artists who are generally removed from most of the corporate hassles. I think it’s important to keep people focused on the job at hand.

Q. And what do you deem that job to be?

A. That’s a loaded question, but for me not terribly hard to answer.

We had an obligation to keep our readers informed, both in print and online, about their community. As online reporting became more important, we were obliged to get news out and get it dispersed quickly. And then we had to keep it fresh, especially with breaking news. It’s a different mindset than when I started in the business. But it’s where we are today with changing technology. People want – even demand – news as it happens. We can no longer leave that to traditional electronic media. Everyone is now electronic media. And if they aren’t, they’ve signed their business death certificate. Consumers will fill in the date.

For our advertisers it was a matter of getting them the best ROI for every dollar they spent with us.

As the media landscape changes, the job of journalism at its core will not change. However, how that job is done and how the work is delivered will, and in fact already has. It will continue to evolve with technology.

Q. Talk more about how you perceive journalism today as opposed to 10 or even 20 years ago.

A. When I started in the business, journalism was newspapers, radio, television and magazines. That was it. It was reporting – either in print or through the airwaves. We all concentrated on being the best reporters and writers we could. Since I toiled at a weekly newspaper, our big thing was to try to beat the daily on a story…any story!

The fundamental principles of journalism haven’t changed. At the core, the craft remains about reporting and writing for those who can’t witness an event or meeting. It’s letting people know what’s going on in their community so they can make the right, informed decisions for themselves and their families.

But technology and social media have dramatically changed how we do our jobs, how we distribute our work, how we make money from our work, and – I think this might be the most important change – how we engage and interact with our readers.

When I first became editor of a weekly community paper, our reader engagement was limited to our letters to the editor, phone calls, talks to civic clubs and chats with the man on the street.

Today we have an immediacy that many find intimidating and daunting. Facebook, Twitter and blogging are all having profound impacts on journalism, on both the reporting and the engagement fronts. Those who grasp the potential of social media are already years ahead of the rest of the pack. Smart users not only promote their work, but also get valuable feedback and tips for more stories or tips on missing pieces of a story. Each one of those points is a huge deal for a journalist. But in an even greater context they give journalists an infinitely more personal connection to their readers than has ever been available to journalists in the history of the media.

It’s truly incredible to watch the engaged journalist work his or her social media followers. What comes back to them expands their knowledge base quickly. So on a breaking news story, for instance, they can post initial information in the blink of an eye, then update it as more information becomes available. And just as importantly, sites like Twitter and Facebook in particular can immediately put them in touch with sources who broaden stories and perspective.

Beyond the immediacy offered by social media, different segments also allow journalists to expand their base of experts and contacts on their beat or in their field. And any journalist worth his or her salt knows you simply cannot have too many contacts.

Q. So I take it you are engaged in social media?

A. I have active Facebook and Twitter accounts that I work daily. I have two blog sites – besides the one where you’re reading this interview – I contribute to on an irregular basis. One is devoted to things of a journalistic nature (ericthomason.wordpress.com) and the other more personal (thirdcupofcoffee.woprdpress.com) and more random.

I have also been active on LinkedIn for more than three years. That site in particular is a great place to make professional connections.

Q. OK. So a potential employer looks at your background and sees a newspaper guy. They’re looking for a media guy. What makes you a viable choice?

A. I get it. I understand that media companies that succeed in today’s and tomorrow’s volatile landscape will not look anything like the media companies of my youth. I understand that companies that continue to talk about reader engagement (instead of diving into true reader engagement) kill themselves a little more with every meeting (i.e., inaction) on the subject. I understand that companies just now working on their social media strategy are light years behind the curve and will likely never catch up. Having been a publisher, I understand the financial struggles the industry has faced. Conversely, I also understand new business models for news must be developed and hinged on non-print revenue/EBITDA growth.

I get it. I get that future successful companies media companies will focus on their core competencies and outsource the rest. I get that journalists today and tomorrow must be technologically savvy and willing to continue to explore the boundaries of that technology for the benefit of their own news gathering abilities.

I get it. I get that readers want engagement with their media outlets, and those outlets must figure out how to accommodate them. Letters to the editor, while still viable, won’t cut it alone anymore. Readers want real – and real time – contact and interaction.

I get it. With a history in management, I’ve seen news organizations shrink over the years. Newsrooms simply do not have the manpower they once did, and fewer people means less capacity for news gathering. As much as we all regret that being the case, it continues to open up new opportunities for collaboration with the public, bloggers, and even other media, some of which are competition in some sense of the word.

People who look at me should see an experienced journalist embracing today’s media landscape and excited about again being part of today media climate.

Q. A final question: We’ve talked at length here about journalism. But you spent the last 11 years with your prior employer as a publisher where your responsibilities extended through the entire properties. So are you headed back to the newsroom, or back to a publisher’s chair?

A. I suppose that depends on what comes my way because I truly enjoyed both positions. Some people have asked me why I would go ‘back’ to an editor’s position. The implication is that it would be a backward career move. In terms of pay, that’s certainly true. But news organizations have the word ‘news’ in them for a reason. So it is my belief that an editor holds a huge amount of responsibility for the success of the organization. And as a former publisher, I firmly grasp the financial side of the business and how the newsroom fits into the equation.

But would I accept a publisher position? Absolutely. There’s a certain satisfaction that comes from building a team across disciplines – news, advertising, creative services, production, etc – that is unmatched anywhere else in a news organization. Of course, additional business pressures come with a publisher job, but that’s also part of the enjoyment. You get to exercise all of your business skills every day to help your staff help make the business a success. In today’s environment, those skills must be expanded to include an awareness, grasp and curiosity about our digital future.

(Want to speak with Rick Thomason about why he should be part of your team? Please contact him at rickthom@yahoo.com or ericthom57@gmail.com. He also writes two other blogs: Journalism, Because it Matters and Third Cup of Coffee.)