News, Improved

1
News, Improved
How Americas Newsrooms Are Learning to Change
Michele McLellan Tim Porter
2
Its hard to predict things,particularly things
in the future-- Yogi Berra
3
Tomorrows Workforce

• Strategic Training for Newspapers
• 2 million, Knight-funded project, 2003-2007
• 17 print newsrooms
• Atlanta, Portland, Raleigh, Minneapolis,
  Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, St. Petersburg,
  Modesto, Dothan (Ala.), Columbus (Ga.), Waco,
  Gaston (N.C.), LaCrosse (Wis.), Tri-Cities
  (Wash.)
• Goal To convince news industry that professional
  development is a good investment

4
Tomorrows Workforce

• What We Did
• Interviewed more than 500 journalists
• Measured culture change before and after the
  project
• Worked with top news executives on leadership,
  communication, goals priorities
• Developed unique newsroom strategic learning
  plans
• Provided hands-on coaching for newsroom leaders
  and middle managers

5
Tomorrows Workforce

• Results
• 15 newspapers increased training and measurement
• Five of seven measured by end of 2006 improved
  culture
• Two others showed progress among top and middle
  managers, who had received intensive training
• 11 newsrooms reported content improvements tied
  to training
• Newsrooms that shifted more focus on-line during
  the project also linked progress to training

6
Tomorrows Workforce

• Lessons Learned Training Works Best When
• Newsroom leadership clearly defines purpose
  Learning so that
• Top managers participate Says this is
  important
• It is tied to strategic editorial or business
  goals Can be put to use
• Staff participates in its selection, design and
  evaluation -- Ownership
• Journalists learn across departments and hierachy
  Eliminates skills gap, creates common
  vocabulary
• Newsrooms learn as organizations, not individuals
  What we are all learning together
• It is mandatory and continuous Part of who we
  are

7
Tomorrows Workforce

• Lessons Learned One More
• Time spent on training matters
• more than money spent on training

8
Why Strategic Learning Matters

• Newspapers must change to survive
• Organizational change by definition requires
  shifts in behavior
• In order to get people to think and act
  differently, they usually need new skills
  craft, managerial, strategic
• A strategic learning plan is a mechanism a set
  of tools that can deliver those skills, tie
  them to goals and assess their effectiveness

9
Components of a Strategic Learning Plan

• Vision Where do we want to go? When do we want
  to get there?
• Goals What do we have to do to get there? What
  steps must we take? Which are most important?
  Which are dependent on others?
• Capacity What skills do we need? What can we do
  now? What do we have to learn?
• Assess How we will measure progress? What are
  our standards for success?
• Adjust How will we react to progress or failure?
  When will we review our vision and goals?
• Repeat

10
About News, Improved

• Provides a strategic training framework that
  promotes effective newsroom learning
• Based on work from
• Tomorrows Workforce
• Learning Newsroom
• Committee of Concerned Journalists
• APME NewsTrain

11
We Hope You Learn

• A clearer understanding of the value to the
  journalism and to the business enterprise -- of
  continuous staff development for journalists
• A framework for creating effective, strategic
  learning in your newsroom
• Optimism that change is possible

12
Closing the Leadership Gap

• Why leadership matters and why the times require
  a new set of newsroom leadership skills
• Actions and attitudes many unconscious of
  editors that inhibit and even actively discourage
  creative risk-taking in newsrooms
• Characteristics of good leadership and how some
  newspaper editors have acquired them

13
Goals Knowing Where Youre Going

• How clear, actionable goals drive learning and
  content improvement
• Key questions editors can ask in developing
  newsroom goals
• One newspapers experiment with intentional
  rather than accidental journalism
• How linking goals, staff training and
  organizational change can transform a newspaper

14
Newsroom Culture No More Whining

• The defensive culture of newspapers and how it
  stifles innovation
• How this culture manifests itself every day in
  the newsroom
• Successful efforts to change newsroom culture
  through training and staff development
• How one small newspapers culture work put it in
  the national limelight

15
The Well-Balanced Learning Diet

• The value of group learning in the newsroom
• How learning in support of specific goals drives
  improvement in news content
• A newsroom learning plan that combines individual
  learning with organization learning
• Ideas for newsroom learning that wont break the
  budget

16
Line Editors Guardians of the Culture

• Why frontline editors the editors who touch
  content and staff every day are critical to
  newsroom efforts to change
• How the job has changed radically in the last
  decide
• A new study that defines key qualities of a
  successful frontline editor

17
The Business Imperative for Learning

• Why other industries and professions consider
  training a business imperative
• How companies link their investment in training
  to business success
• How the news industry can make a business case
  for training

18
The Future

• Results of a national survey showing journalists
  and their bosses see training as critical to the
  future
• Why most journalists give their organizations
  training programs no more than a C grade
• How a significant number of news organizations
  are increasing their training despite financial
  pressures

19
Thanks! Questions?
Tim Porter tim_at_timporter.com 415-381-9945 www.tim
porter.com/firstdraft