Imagine you’re a managing editor – you are responsible for all the reporters in your newsroom. What do you do when one of your own gets unlawfully arrested?
It’s only when you’re in a crisis situation that you pull your head out of the sand, look around and say, “Where is my fearless leader?”
In this post, I won’t go into the litany of crimes against reporters my alma mater’s newspaper has committed. What I want to explore is what leadership means in the news business.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (the end-all and be-all of the English language), it defines leadership as:
The dignity, office, or position of a leader, esp. of a political party; ability to lead; the position of a group of people leading or influencing others within a given context; the group itself; the action or influence necessary for the direction or organization of effort in a group undertaking. Also attrib., as leadership behaviour, school, skill.
That means when one of your reporters gets arrested, it’s up to you to find out the whos, whats, wheres, whys, whens and hows. Then, based on that information, act. In this case, a letter to the police department explaining your reporters lack of press credentials and a personal phone call to your reporter.
It doesn’t take a lot of philosophizing to be a good leader. All you have to know is how to listen, how to be accountable and responsible. Responsible – ability to respond.
In a research colloquium, Dr. Ryfe at UNR’s School of Journalism said that managing editors do not know how to manage people. All they know is how to do a damn good job of reporting and editing. The context was on the dying newspaper industry and the rigidly hierarchical structure of a newsroom. When a managing editor doesn’t listen to his/her reporters, everything goes to pot.
In my experience, I’ve had a few leadership opportunities and been to a few leadership seminars. Making lists of what a leader is out of the letters in the word (‘L’ is for lazy…’E’ is for easy…), memorizing the 12 steps to becoming a leader or sitting around in a circle discussing the ills of society never taught me how to be a leader. It wasn’t until I was faced with a horde of rambunctious 11-year-olds that I felt what it was like to be in charge.
It wasn’t long before I had a grasp of how to influence, lead and manage my students.
It shouldn’t be that difficult when you have a room of college age students working for you. It does take time, practice, failing a few times and rising up from those challenges. But in the end, you’ll having a well oiled machine that can change when necessary and easy to manage.
To the editors of the Rebel Yell and managing editors everywhere- learn how to be a good leader. The first step is L for Listen.
