I’m helping my Digital First colleagues recruit for several newsroom leadership positions.
I also know that hundreds of journalists — including, I suspect, some strong leaders — have recently lost their jobs with Patch, Gannett and the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Other good journalists are still looking for work after earlier cutbacks elsewhere. Still others fear for their companies’ future and are looking for a better company to work for.
So here’s my offer to journalists who think they have what it takes to lead a Digital First newsroom (including Digital First colleagues who think they are ready to lead a newsroom or a larger newsroom): Make your pitch.
Read my blog post on leading a Digital First newsroom and browse through some of my advice for new Digital First editors.
Then tell and/or show me why you would be an outstanding leader for a Digital First newsroom (or a regional leader with responsibilities for multiple newsrooms). Some things you could do (you don’t necessarily have to do all of them; doing one or two really well might be enough):
- Our CEO, John Paton, says we need to “put the digital people in charge.” Tell me why you’re a digital person. If you started out a print person (as I did), tell me about your journey to becoming a digital person: how far you’ve come, how far you still need to go and where you’re headed next.
- What digital skills and tools do you excel with? Which ones are you learning? (If the answers to both questions are “none,” don’t waste your time or mine making your pitch.)
- What leadership experience do you have? If the answer is “none,” tell me why you would make a good leader.
- Brag about your journalism experience: How has your work made a difference in your community(ies)?
- Give me a detailed vision of a single slice of your vision for how a newsroom should operate.
- Tell me about your career (a résumé is fine, but I favor using digital tools to show me about your career).
You can write your pitch (writing is obviously my preferred form of communication), but at least include some links (as I have here), so you show some understanding of things digital. It might help your pitch if you want to use digital skills in your pitch, such as social media, mapping, data visualization or video. If you need to make a pitch private (to evade the attention of a current boss), that’s fine. You can email me or protect your pitch with privacy settings or a password (as long as you let me in).
You can pitch me through social media, in comments here or privately by email at sbuttry (at) digitalfirstmedia (dot) com.
We’re looking for strong leaders with excellent journalism skills — digital and traditional — and with the vision to help lead our newsrooms to a successful future. Show and tell me why you are such a leader.
Update: John Kroll has responded to this post (although, alas, he’s not interested in leading one of our newsrooms) with a thought-provoking three-part blog series:
Why today’s newsrooms need ‘digital people’ and how to identify them
What digital tools and skills does a newsroom leader need? If you’re responding to this post in search of a job, the detailed self-assessment John makes here would be one good way to respond: We’re not looking for someone who’s mastered every digital skill and tool (that journalist doesn’t exist, that I know of), but for someone who’s always learning, and this kind of self-assessment tells a lot. It’s a good blog post idea, and I might steal it sometime.
I can tell you the exact moment I became a leader. I’m leading two programs on leadership this weekend at the Excellence in Journalism conference in Anaheim. I’m pretty sure I’ll mention this post in at least one of those sessions.
Update: John blogged again, answering about the difference editors can have in a community.
Thanks to John for these thoughtful responses to my post (and for the links).
Update: One more from John, about asking readers what they want in suburban coverage.
Reblogged this on Journalism Ends Here.
LikeLike
Good to see your call for talent in journalism – whichever way the world goes we still need impartial and balanced voices who are willing to research and find truth and speak about it. If these skilled people are pushed out of print media then they must find a place in digital media. If you can find and nurture the next John Pilger that would be great.
LikeLike
It is encouraging to see professionals embracing the change with passion and an expansive outlook. To explore and create and challenge is why we got into this in the first place, right?
LikeLike
i;ve sent this post to two people I know who are journalists. Hopefully one or both will look into it.
LikeLike
What’s the pay like, worth going international for? 😉
LikeLike
Might be. Let’s talk. You can call me at 267-697-9275 to discuss.
LikeLike
[…] Buttry, digital transformation editor for Digital First Media, challenged journalists recently to tell him why they should be hired as newsroom leaders. Been there, done that, ready for a […]
LikeLike
[…] I mentioned yesterday, Steve Buttry sent out a call for journalists to tell him why they should be hired as Digital First editors. I’m not raising my hand, but the questions he asked were […]
LikeLike
[…] Buttry asked the questions. I provide the […]
LikeLike
[…] with a similar feeling that I approach the next in Steve Buttry’s questions for prospective Digital First […]
LikeLike
[…] the series of posts in response to Steve Buttry, he […]
LikeLike
[…] I suspect that will change in a hurry. Edmonds mentioned some hires. He might have pointed to the recent post by Steve Buttry asking for digitally savvy people to apply for Digital First Media editorships. DFM has been the […]
LikeLike