Angry editor: How not to run a newsroom, Part Two.
“I am God,” the managing editor proclaimed one morning.
“What?” asked a reporter. This being a multinational newsroom, she was a talented writer from Nigeria with a quiet, but strong faith.
“He says he’s God,” I told her, not sure if she hadn’t heard, or couldn’t believe her ears.
“Oh,” she responded, showing no surprise. Having worked there the longest of all current staff members – just over two years – she was most familiar with the boss’ character.
Calling himself God was no doubt partly meant as a joke – the same way he considered threatening to beat his employees with a metal rod or cut their heads off to be funny. The fact that no one else ever laughed did not dissuade him from exercising his peculiar sense of humour.
By calling himself God he was also most likely reinforcing his position that within the newsroom and over the contents of the website he had total and unquestionable control. He claimed first and final say. There was no room for anyone else to interject with any ideas, suggestions, or – God forbid – contradictions.
Any time I have ever worked as a reporter for a good editor or producer I have prepared and maintained a list of possible stories. This has always been expected of me and of any reporter in every media outlet that has ever employed me. Until now.
Every well-organized newsroom starts the morning with a story meeting. All reporters who are not unavoidably busy actually chasing down stories must attend the meeting to update everyone on the progress of their current projects and to suggest new ones, or to make their colleagues aware of breaking news that requires immediate attention. The editor (or editors, depending on the size of the news operation) listens to the ideas and reports, seeking clarification on many, accepting some, rejecting others, putting a few on hold and suggesting more of his or her own.
A good editor leads a newsroom not as an all-knowing and all-powerful tyrant, but as an impartial judge, making decisions based on merit according to journalistic standards, and as a supportive mentor, encouraging the reporters to improve their craft by sharing experience and skills. The editor sets the priorities for the news day, deciding which reporters concentrate on which stories and which reports will lead the outlet’s coverage.
Of course, since this is the news business, any set agenda can be ripped apart in an instant if something of over-riding importance occurs or is discovered – an editor has to be ready for that, as well. With so much to do and bearing the ultimate responsibility for the quality of the publication’s or broadcast’s news reporting, the editor or producer has to rely on considerable planning input from reporters simply because he or she would be unable to do everything and still do it well.
Coming up with their own fresh story ideas every day benefits reporters because it exercises their imaginations and curiousity, forcing them to pay attention to everything that is going on around them and encouraging them to always probe for a little more information and fresh perspectives. It also allows them to build on their strengths, pursuing topics that already interest them, and helps them go outside their comfort zones, exploring subjects of which they are not yet knowledgeable.
The publication or broadcast benefits because with numerous people and not just one person coming up with story ideas, the coverage has a considerably better chance of being complete, comprehensive and accurate.
So naturally for my first day in the newsroom of the online publication in Cambodia, I brought a list of story ideas to offer and discuss during the first editorial meeting. However, that meeting never happened and the managing editor never asked for any ideas or gave me any opportunity to present them.
Instead, the managing editor assigned stories impulsively, haphazardly and often in a great flood, based largely on whatever had briefly caught his fleeting attention in that moment, without apparent regard for a reporter’s strengths, area of interest, or current workload. The reporter from Nigeria, for example, had a great passion for the cinematic arts, but was never allowed to cover the entertainment industry. Likewise, a Filipina reporter could not write about renewable energy technology, of which she had knowledge and experience. It was, indeed, unclear if the managing editor was even aware that his reporters had these kinds of expertise.
After ordering a reporter to work on a particular story he would micromanage how it was done, to the point of dictating some of the copy off the top of his head – even before the full situation was known. This way he effectively ensured that the final product was merely a reflection of his perceptions and views and that the site’s news coverage lacked objectivity, variety and accuracy.
This was still my first week of work. More to come.
Commentaires