By Mark Trahant
The founding editor of The Sacramento Bee split newspaper leaders into two categories: True Editors and Apologies For Editors.
True editors, wrote John Rollin Ridge, know "everything." They carry a vast "fund of general information, for there is not a subject which engages men's minds, in whatever range of science or literature, upon which he is not peremptorily called to write."
The True Editor is a teacher of excellence, about this craft we call journalism, as well as any other subject that might come up.
Now jump ahead a century plus and consider a few questions about journalism today:
- Does the culture in most newsrooms support and promote True Editors?
- Do news organizations devote enough resources to teaching journalists how to improve their practice?
- And, finally, do we invest enough in what most call "professional development."
The answers: "Nope.""Hardly." And, "you got to be kidding!"
A study funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation suggests that about one third of all journalism professionals are dissatisfied with both the amount and the kind of training opportunities available. These folks say that lack of training is their number one job frustration – even ahead of bread and butter concerns pay and benefits. These are the professionals who might leave the business, but even a broader look isn't much more encouraging because that shows that some eight of ten journalists say they just don't get enough training.
The Maynard Institute has an interest in this discussion, of course. For 25 years, the Institute has used professional training programs – reporting, editing and leadership – as a method for increasing diversity in journalism organizations.
Indeed, it's clear that there is a direct relationship between improving any news organization diversity goals and its training commitment.
Ten years ago a study by The Freedom Forum, "No Train, No Gain," predicted that people of color were more likely to leave newsrooms if they didn't get better access to training. Now, looking back, we see a "retention" problem in the news business because people of color are leaving the industry at higher rates.
We have seen something similar in Maynard programs. For most of our history: Companies invested in people. A news organization would look for someone promising, send that candidate for advanced-training, and according to our data, watch them flourish within their organization. (Nearly all of our program graduates stayed in the business – and most stayed with their own companies.) Now many of those same companies say they can't afford to send people for advance training; they ask what scholarships are available. They look for someone else to make an investment in their people. Curious.
On June 1, a group of journalists who care about improving the craft got together in Atlanta to talk about training – and what it would take to improve the climate so more True Editors could flourish. One of the challenges was for each of us who were present to sit down a write a letter to corporate leaders asking them to think about training, personal development for journalists, and what kind of learning atmosphere is present in their organization.
Here's my letter:
Dear Corporate Leader,
Do you want to be a True Leader? Or an Apology for an Leader?
I'll let you know if anyone answers.
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