3 Things I Learned Working at a (small) Newspaper
As I wrap up my last day at the North County Times to embark on a new adventure with CNN, I asked myself what I had learned and how it could be helpful to others. In addition to learning four content management systems, photo and video programs, endless technical workarounds and lots of nifty social media tricks I also learned the gelato place serves the best coffee, success means different things to different people and almost everyone values autonomy.
But more importantly I also learned this:
There is always an abundance of good ideas and enthusiasm.
The impression that newspaper employees are curmudgeons who snarl at the mere mention of Twitter is (mostly) false. Even the most reclusive reporters have great ideas. If they didn't, they would quickly run out of enterprise stories and be held up to ridicule by their peers. After spending time talking individually and in small groups with people it became clear that directing this energy on narrower sets of issues helped everyone reach their goals faster without sacrificing creativity. Not everyone will have good ideas about everything. But everyone is good at something.
Crime does pay, but not in the long run
It's no surprise crime stories do well on a regional newspaper website. And as much as I love breaking news it's equally unsurprising people demand more than a steady diet of adrenaline. Real data shows people really DO care about city spending, county elections and neighborhood development (as well as stories about naked people arrested for having sex in a boat parked in a driveway). It's well worth the time to cultivate online communities dedicated to these topics so these stories have a fighting chance to achieve the same reach and amplification on social platforms traditionally reserved for sensational crime briefs.
People still matter the most
This must happen in newspapers around the country, but every day a small stack of handwritten letters are delivered to this newsroom. Some are addressed to "The Esteemed Editor." Others contain gushing thank-you's for addressing topics such as mobile home rent control. Not all are nice. And no matter how long it might take, it has been demonstrated again and again that certain people will talk the computer illiterate through the online registration process or listen to a long, complicated child custody story. The line of separation between "them" and "us" has gotten fuzzier. The relationships we form with readers, information providers and the public at large are formed increasingly on even playing fields, whether in person or electronically. This genuine fellowship with others is earned, priceless and irreplaceable. And ultimately it is what will keep the newsroom alive.
I'm quite certain the most important things I forgot to share will be painfully evident as soon as I hit "publish" but then again making mistakes has become an integral ingredient to learning.
