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The Raleigh News & Observer Project The Raleigh News & Observer was looking for new approaches to local news coverage in 2004 when it asked Tomorrow’s Workforce to help the newsroom build an aggressive and comprehensive training program. As part of its focus on change and learning, the N&O named a staff training committee and encouraged the group to look for practical and innovative approaches to training. In addition, the newspaper increased training for all editors and named a senior-level staff development editor. Raleigh’s coach from Tomorrow’s Workforce is Judy Pace Christie. Among the newspaper’s lessons: Training must focus on helping people change how they work. In addition, the N & O realized top and middle managers needed training and development.
Q. How has training tied in with your overall goals for The News & Observer? A. Our goals focus on making The N&O more direct, engaging and informative, breaking the mold on local coverage to better serve readers. We’ve built training that supports those coverage goals. Training is a linchpin in our current thinking on editing for today's readers.
We have approached “breaking the mold on local coverage” in a variety of ways -- with a keen eye to packaging that is easy to digest and visually engaging. Short set-ups anchor many of these break-the-mold packages, which often feature a combination of magazine-like graphics, display photos and mugs, bulleted lists, breakout quotes, tips boxes, Q&As and similar devices. There are many examples in the paper, every day -- from sports to entertainment to how our education team covered commencement time for 35 high schools. Q. Please describe highlights of the training program in your newsroom. A. One highlight is Development Day, which takes place every two months. The training committee recognized that many staff members (bureau reporters, photographers, etc.), attending a single class could virtually knock out an entire day for some staff members. Development Day provides several classes on the same day so that a staff member could maximize the time s/he was taking away from the workday to attend classes. This has made it easier for staff members to fit training into their schedules and has helped to raise the awareness of and excitement about training efforts in general. Attendance has been phenomenal. For example, approximately 130 staffers attended sessions in the last one. We also make sure each D-Day offers training in several disciplines and is interactive - each session is participatory. The News & Observer now requires reporters, photographers, designers, researchers and artists to earn 15 credits a year, with one hour equaling one credit. Editors and managers must earn 22 credits. Three credits are to come from outside each staff member’s area, such as a reporter taking a photo course. Another finding of the Tomorrow’s Workforce survey was the need for training specifically designed for top managers and middle managers. This has been the focus of several training sessions as well as a program of 360-degree evaluations and related development plans for all managers. Q. Please detail the process by which you implemented your training program. Describe the role of your newsroom training committee. A. The training committee is made up of 12 staff members and represents all departments of the newsroom. The group gathered data from a variety of sources, including the Tomorrow’s Workforce survey and analysis of newsroom training needs. In addition, the committee members interviewed colleagues, conducted a survey through our newsroom intranet, held brainstorming sessions, and considered feedback from other projects, including a company-wide task force on young readers. The starting point for the training committee was the newsroom’s goal to “Work Harder for Readers,” with the idea that training should translate those goals into development programs for staff members. The committee began to look at training from three different perspectives: that of our “creatives,” which included reporters, photographers, designers, copy editors and researchers; our “conductors,” who were the managers of the newsroom; and, importantly, our readers. Within the creative and conductor groups, we recognized a need for both nuts & bolts training and inspirational sessions. From the readers’ perspective, we needed to know more about who they were and how to interact with them. From this thinking, the committee developed a proposed curriculum. The committee also recommended that each staff member be required to complete a certain number of hours of training, that we concentrate our training dollars on bringing training in-house rather than sending staff members out, that we modify our strategy for increasing our proficiency in Spanish, and that we establish Development Days. The committee presented the proposal to the executive editor, managing editor and senior newsroom managers, who endorsed the plan in its entirety. Now that our training program is under way, the committee is continuing to operate. As we complete our first year, about half of the members will step down and be replaced by new members. The plan is for the training committee to be a standing committee of the newsroom, with membership of staggered terms to maintain continuity. Additionally, a new senior management position -- staff development editor -- has been established to oversee training, recruiting and retention. The staff development editor oversees the work of the training committee and reports directly to the executive editor. The position is designed to help “hire and nurture a staff that can help The N&O improve constantly as a news organization and workplace” and collaborates with the news research director and training committee. Q. How easily has the staff come on board? How did you handle communication, motivation and commitment? A. We tried to communicate the learning plan every chance we had, through every channel we had -- newsroom-wide emails, the newsroom intranet, printed newsletters, and small group and staff meetings. Development Days and other training opportunities are promoted in the same manner. Staff members attending Development Days received stickers with the slogan “Development Unleashed” for each class attended. A new promotion is under way with the launch of the 2006 program. “Destination Development” includes a passport for each staff member to track his/her own training. We celebrated the start of the 2006 training program with a cake and door prizes and an explanation of training goals. We let the staff know that we incorporated their suggestions after the first two Development Days, such as scheduling the keynote speaker later in the day so night-siders can attend and offering more flexibility in other class scheduling. We also have told people that we can customize training for their departments or individual needs, such as classes for designers who wanted to learn PhotoShop. In addition to promotional activity, progress in professional development is also considered in each employee’s annual review. The personnel evaluations have been retooled so that staff members can list credits earned and classes taken. A spot has also been added for the supervisor and staff member to identify future training interest and needs. Folks who have been away on fellowships are responsible for bringing in an outside speaker once a month for a one-hour sabbatical brown bag. We’ve had a UNC prof who’s a member of the Red Clay Ramblers, a Duke Law professor who argued a church-state case before the U.S. Supreme Court and the head of N.C. State’s College of Design, among others. Staffers also lead “how I got the story” brown bags. Our director of photography is leading a group that has been reading and discussing “The Art of Possibility” and our Sunday editor is leading a Writers Circle with 15 reporters who discuss great writing -- from our paper and elsewhere. Q. Describe any changes you have noticed in employee satisfaction and newsroom culture as a result of your training program. A. We have received many favorable comments from the staff about training in general, saying how refreshing it is to work in an environment that values training and how appreciative they are of the opportunities for professional development. People have said that they appreciate that someone is listening to them about training needs. One staffer, for example, said he was sometimes embarrassed to bother newsroom colleagues with questions and is learning a lot from the classes. However, changing newsroom culture is a long journey and will demand constant attention to our training needs and application of what we learn. Q. Describe the impact of the training program on news content. A. Training sessions have been held to focus on headline-writing, source-building, beat reporting, the use of alternative story forms, writing for online and other skills. It’s hard to point to specific changes, since training is one level of conversation about changes in the works. Feedback from the staff tells us that we will need to increase the level of training on “new work” -- telling some stories as lists, charts or graphics, for instance -- in order to propagate new approaches. Q. What recommendations and guidance from Tomorrow’s Workforce had the most impact on your training program? What elements of the TW program were most beneficial to you? A. Probably the most beneficial aspect of the program was the unlimited access we had to our TW consultant. On-site visits and personal interaction with the committee helped to keep us on the right track. We could not have developed this curriculum without the core TW elements-- the staff survey on training needs and on culture, the feedback on senior leadership style and staff attitudes. Those materials are resources in an ongoing way and continue to inform our conversation on building more training. The Tomorrow’s Workforce role as facilitator and mirror was absolutely critical, giving the training committee confidence and bringing necessary feedback and insight back to us as senior managers. Q. Melanie, what changes did the project bring about from you as the newsroom leader? It required me to step back and listen to what the newsroom saw as training needs in addition to the needs I saw. The timing was good in terms of what I wanted to do with my leadership. The project required me to recognize that people expected to be reined in and to voice significant and continuing enthusiasm. When they hear “reach higher, think bolder,” they respond in amazing ways. And finally, it required me and the other newsroom leaders to consider our own need to improve and grow as well as training needs of the rest of the staff. Q. If you had it to do over again, what would you do differently? A. Even more communication. Despite all the emphasis on newsroom training, it still has to compete with the day-to-day pressures of the job and sometimes gets lost along the way. Q. What have you learned about the value of newsroom training? A. We’ve learned that dividends are much higher from a focused, connected training plan than from an equal number of sessions not linked philosophically. Also, we’ve learned that training is different from enrichment, and that we need to do even more skill-based programs. We now know that interactive lessons, not lectures, work best. People want to try out skills or exchange ideas. They hate PowerPoint presentations. Q. What advice would you give to other editors who want to improve training for journalists in their newsrooms? A. Find a way to ask the staff what’s needed and wanted and to facilitate a conversation not about training first, but about journalistic goals and workplace issues first. Training follows those goals. Second, draw on the expertise on your own staff. People learn by teaching training sessions as well as by attending them. Third, do as much training as you possibly can -- or perhaps more than you think you can do. Measure success. Repeat what works, and adjust what doesn’t. And finally, teach sessions yourself. Q. Other comments? A. Melanie Sill: We are still at the beginning of this process. Year Two will be our opportunity to deepen the reach and impact of our training, and to see its impact on content. A. Teresa Leonard: We must make a long-term commitment to training. Development of individuals can happen quickly but the only way to develop a culture of learning is through constant and consistent attention. A. Carole Miller: Training doesn’t have to be expensive. You’ve got a staff filled with experts. Take advantage of it. Teaching inspires veteran staffers -- and keeping them engaged and excited is a way to keep them in the fold. Having the veterans share inspires the rest of the staff. It’s a win-win for the newsroom. Q. What would you tell a publisher or CEO about the need for training resources (time and money) to help the newsroom adapt to a shifting media landscape? A. We want people to perform new types of work, some of which is not yet defined. Offering training lowers the fear associated with changing job duties and roles and offers an incentive both for staff member and managers, as training promises to improve the work. Making such demands without offering training seems to guarantee opposition and failure. Additionally, help from outside experts is key. |
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