April 17, 2009, update: Students are permitted to also discuss Chapter 16, which focuses on editors as managers.
This is one part of the text — which gives basic but valuable information about the different roles of editors — should have been put much earlier in the book, in my opinion. Building effective relationships between reporters and editors, I believe, is the core of producing good journalism. This is why I have tried to stress that in lectures and give you opportunities to work together in those roles.
The chapter, while relatively brief, provides helpful insight, especially for beginners. I like the advice the authors give to conclude. It is:
"• Embrace the editing process. Understand that editing almost invariably makes the product better
• Embrace the coaching process. Take criticism of your work not as something personal but as an opportunity to improve.
• Find peers to respect and emulate. Almost every newsroom has role models for you to follow. What what the pros do and how they do it. Similarly, avoid the bad habits of the worst.
• Seek advice. Don't come across as know-it-all. Show your editors that you are willing to grow professionally and improve your skills.
• Don't be seen as a complainer. Remember that no workplace is perfect. Keep your complaints to yourself or complain directly to your supervisor, not the entire newsroom.
• Work hard. People advance to higher positions in the news business when they outwork and outperform their peers.
• Adhere to the highest standard of ethics. It you see a co-worker take ethical shortcuts, quietly report it to your boss. Never, ever take an ethical shortcut yourself.
• Adhere to the highest standards of excellence. Practice good journalism in every story, no matter how long or how short. There is no such thing as an unimportant news story.
• Never be satisfied with your work. You can always get better."
Some of this is just advice on how to be a professional. Now, I do not agree with some of what the authors assert. For example, while I agree those who work hard can get ahead, it is also true in some organizations that other human factors based on friendships and other connections also play a role. That's just newsroom politics. I also disagree with the bluntness about a being a complainer. To be a good journalist, you have to question authority all the time and that switch does not turn off in a newsroom. I do agree there is a professional way to bring that criticism and it can be bad if it goes too far, but for them to say it should be limited to yourself or your supervisor is simply unrealistic. Everyone sometimes need to complain to co-workers to deal with stress and commiserate - it's healthy and only human.
Of course, there also is plenty I do agree with, especially what they say about upholding ethics and high standards. In our new media world those skills, I believe, will increase in value as the public hungers for reliable information.
Another aspect the chapter I wanted to briefly comment on is the role of coaching. Personally, I have benefited from several mentors throughout my journalism career. On numerous occasions, whether it was an individual story or something about my career path, they have helped guide me in a business where everything keeps changing and no two stories are ever exactly like. So I would encourage everyone to seek out others to help you, especially those who know what they are doing.
Those are my thoughts. What are yours about this list about? How have editors or mentors shaped your journalistic career? What else did you find interesting in this chapter?
The deadline for this online discussion is midnight April 27 (a week from Monday). Remember, this is the final one for the semester and if you have not participated in at least one online discussion, your participation grade will be adversely affected. Conversely, if you participate in more than one, it will enhance that grade.
Lastly, you need to produce at least 300 words in one or multiple posts.
Our JRN 375 class on the first day
It now probably seems like a lifetime ago, but here is the class in January.
AddThis
Subscribe To
Posts
Our Blog List
-
-
-
-
The Inside of Flint Arts14 years ago
-
-
New York Times discussion group15 years ago
-
-
Final audio project15 years ago
-
-
-
About the instructor
- Christofer Machniak
- I currently teach journalism classes online at the University of Michigan-Flint and I work on the Digital Operations Team for MLive Media Group. Any questions or comments? Please e-mail me at cmachnia@umflint.edu.
7 comments:
I think it can take a while for someone to get used to the process of editing. Editing is not a natural thing, nor is taking criticism. By nature, editing is telling someone else that their work is not as good as what you think it should be. While many times, the person having their work edited might take that as arrogance on the part of the editor. When someone else points out a flaw in something you've written or produced, it can create a bit of animosity, especially if it's a piece you were particularly proud of. It can come across as the editor telling the reporter basically "I know more about how to write this than you do, so here's what you have to change."
It can take a while, I think, for journalists to come to grips with the fact that editors are not there to criticize and one-up you -- editors are there for only one reason: to make the product better. Of course, that extra motivation of not wanting your editor to find anything to criticize can be a great way to stay focused on omitting errors from your writing and reporting, so at the same time, a little criticism might not a bad thing.
I also agree that ethical shortcuts are a bad idea. Editors need to realize that no matter how tedious and mundane, they still need to check every name, every place, every URL, every phone number, etc. They still need to run spell check on every story, and check the dictionary on every word they're not sure of. Even editors aren't perfect, and it can be a bit of a wake-up call to realize that.
When it comes down to it, coaching is editing, and editing is coaching. In my opinion, if the editor keeps their edits to themselves, they're only doing half of their job. Of course, one needent point out every comma splice to the reporter, but the editor ought to inform the reporter if something major needs to be changed. Otherwise, how does one ever get better? The same goes with editors and their superiors. Even editors won't catch everything, so if a superior isn't constantly showing the editor what to look for and how to edit, the editing can grow stagnant.
I have become a lot faster editor, as far as editing for surface errors go, between working deadline days at the Tri-County Times, my usual M-Times work and class.
I think aspects of being an editor that are overlooked are, as Mike said, factual errors. How many people disregarded that part entirely on the Dow Jones test at the beginning of the semester? I know I did. I always verify URLs, names, phone numbers and stats before printing.
As for the coaching part, I have been a manager at past retail jobs, but aside from M-Times, not in any sort of office capacity. Even as I am about to graduate, I consider myself more of a "good cop," albeit one who can come down hard on someone if they are not doing their job.
I think the greatest asset I brought to the table with M-Times, being in an editor role, was being a coach and mentor. I think, more than anything, my consultation, advice and know-how either benefited people, or calmed people. For instance, if someone made a mistake, I could draw from experience and tell them that they can, in fact, rebound and do it better next time. I would also like to think of myself as one who encourages people to stick with something. Hopefully some of those traits have long shelf lives.
My personal mentors for going into journalism were Doug Pullen at the Flint Journal and Dr. Lewis. Mr. Pullen gave me my first paid gig outside of M-Times about five years ago, and got me used to writing quickly and accurately. At M-Times I notice a lot of people still struggle to get a story in with a two-week window. I was probably like that when I started, but at the Journal, I would cover an event, and have it turned in that same night. Talk about pressure for a rookie reporter! In cases like that, I would hear both good and bad feedback, depending on how good or bad the story was. The fact that it was mostly good or constructive spoke volumes to Doug's leadership skills while he was at the paper. He never made me feel bad, but always made sure to make me feel great if I deserved it.
Dr. Lewis pried me away from the evil clutches of writers like Doug (music journalists) and into the real news world. He encouraged me to try "real news," and I jumped into it.
At Tri-County Times, I was thrown to the wolves early on as an intern, covering Fenton City Council my first day on the job. Now that I have been there almost a year, mostly as a paid reporter, it seems fairly routine. I would say I learn stuff from my superiors or elders there, although I think it is a mutual contribution-type workplace, given its size, where my younger, tech-savvy ideas influence the paper's push forward, while the staff's veteran leadership keeps me out of trouble.
I have learned a lot about editing this semester. I feel I may not be as fast as some others are, but that there are things that I never looked for before that I find myself seeking out now.
The AP Style book is a great tool and the bane of my existence. There are things that I still get headaches over; things that are hyphenated that normally aren’t or vice versa and capitalizations. These are the two things that get me the most.
I have also learned to take criticisms better, I am very hard headed and it takes a lot to admit that an editor’s way is better. I think that any assignment I work on, whether it be a photograph or a story, I am very close to it. This is a good thing and a bad thing for me, but I have learned to relinquish control over my assignments.
Until I came to UM-Flint, I didn’t have a mentor, and then I met Dr. Lewis. He encouraged me to write for the M-Times and has guided me through the journalism program. I appreciate that if I have questions and concerns that Dr. Lewis is always there, he is this way with many of the students and we all really appreciate him greatly. I know that I feel like I have a lot to learn still, and that Dr. Lewis is a very good person to learn from.
Throughout my first few years here at UM-Flint, I never even thought about having a mentor. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do for a major or a career, or maybe in the departments I had belonged to for previous majors, like Communication, I just didn’t find anyone I really melded with on a level that I could be completely honest. Now, surprisingly, I have two mentors. One in Theatre and one in Journalism.
As for the list, it’s something that every person should copy and paste and put somewhere on their desk. Even for those not studying journalism, some points on that list can work for anyone. One point I really like is “Adhere to the highest standard of ethics.” I am an edgy person, maybe not in my outward appearance or style, but I like to think outside the box. As features editor of The Michigan Times, I get the chance to do a lot more outside the box type stuff than I would writing for the news section. But I still remember to be a journalist first, and a print entertainer second. After all, chances are I won’t be able to write for an entertainment magazine or a features-esque website right away to make my living. If there’s one thing my internship taught me, it was to be ready and willing for anything.
Also, the idea of never being satisfied with your work is something I would like to work toward. It’s easy to do something and say “I’m not satisfied.” But just saying it isn’t enough. I don’t outwardly complain because I know I can only help myself. It’s something I’ve been working on for years now, and reaching the end of my collegiate career it’s something I basically need to pound into my brain now.
A mentor seems like it could be a vital tool for becoming a better writer, reporter, and journalist. I personally haven’t really given it much thought before reading this discussion, but it makes sense now that I read it and is something I will pursue. Also, it could have a little to do with the fact that I have switched my major twice, and juggling three different major ideas over my past three years at the University of Michigan-Flint could have been easier with a mentor. Now that I’m set on journalism, I feel that there are a few people I could seek as my mentor. Not just from school, but people I also met and gained solid relationships from my time spent working as a sports stringer at the Lansing State Journal. I will say that I have learned a lot from just watching the staff at the LSJ.
I felt that each thought idea they provided in the helpful insight for beginners section could easily be placed into your habits of writing or covering a story and greatly improve your work if practiced. The tip they provide that says “Seek advice. Don't come across as know-it-all. Show your editors that you are willing to grow professionally and improve your skills,” is one that I think has the most value in terms of improving my work. Not so much me thinking that I know it all, but I am very tentative to ask for help when struggling in fear of appearing incompetent or ignorant of what I’m doing. The last tip they offer is to never be satisfied with what you’ve done and that it can always get better. I think by tying these two pointers together that I would produce much better work and feel more confident when working on future tasks.
I'm late, and may not get credit, but it's an important discussion
Stechy and I were dicussing this after our final paper was put together, how in journalism, how little the degree actually means, and how much more important experience is.
We are ONLY shaped professionally by those around us. We aren't idependant of eachother's influence in journalism, or our tutileage.
If it weren't for Bruce Edwards, Stuart Bauer and Jane Hale, my photography wouldn't be worth a damn professionally now.
Also, those that are willing to accept criticism and committ to learning are also likely the most patient and best teachers. They make the best mentors. Be confident in abilities, accept challenges with optimism, but have a healthy disatisfaction with your work.
I think one can't have enough mentors, and you can learn from anyone, really you can.
Office politics, are EXTREMELY annoying. I see/ have seen it in my own paper and it is completely stupid and silly. Sadly, office politics are a part of any office, and sometimes people are advanced for unfair reasons.
When it comes to ethics, I ask, why not ask the co-worker directly about the ethical lapses? It seems a goodwill attempt would be better than going right to the ed. Maybe that's my naievity.
Ethical mentors have been important to me, I've called Mike Lewis and Bruce Edwards on several occaisions.
Post a Comment