Jan. 21, 2003
Journalists Discuss Newsroom Training on “The
Kalb Report”
By Greg
Licamele
Journalists want more training. But will they get it in a business driven
by deadlines and bottom lines? Marvin Kalb and a panel of media executives
and journalists explored the topic at the National Press Club on Dec.
16.
The five panelists at “The Kalb Report” agreed that newsroom
training is critical to improving a product and sustaining readership
levels, yet, in rough economic times, this training is one of the first
budget items cut.
“Most American newspapers don’t have a budget for training
because most are small,” said Frank Denton, editor of The Wisconsin
State Journal. “We have a budget, but we don’t know how much
to budget because there’s no model for it. We put it in, but when
advertising revenues fall off, it’s the first thing that’s
cut.”
Barbara Cochran, president of the Radio Television News Directors Association,
said reporters, editors, and producers need to make the argument that
training helps the bottom line of an organization by producing a better
product and retaining employees. She said many journalists feel underappreciated
by their corporate bosses.
“These have been very tough times,” Cochran said. “The
fact is that the public doubts our credibility, that budgets have been
cut. People are being asked to do more with less and asked to master
new technologies that they never studied. One of the benefits of investing
in professional development is that it’s a way for our journalism
companies to tell the people working in the field that they believe
in them. That they’re valuable.”
Today’s journalism needs to meet the 24-hour news cycle, creating
pressure on editorial teams to produce quality work, noted Christopher
Schroeder, CEO and publisher of WashingtonPost.Newsweek Interactive.
However, even though there is an around-the-clock culture for news,
Denton said readers and viewers spend less time perusing the news.
“We need to find a way to become more of a breaking culture while
at the same time not compromising our very strong belief that we have
to be right,” Schroeder said.
“The fact is, [readers] are not satisfied,” said Caesar Andrews,
editor of Gannett News Service. “In many instances, there is a
disconnect between what we do and what we attempt to do. Training will
get us to quality journalism, but we are not there yet.”
Richard Sisk, national security correspondent for the New York Daily
News, said one of the best ways to learn journalism is “by osmosis,”
namely by spending time with people on a reporter’s beat. He recounted
his recent trip to Norfolk, VA, where he spent time with the Navy.
“Is [training] something that has to be set aside?” Sisk asked.
“I don’t know. Do organizations have the resources?”
Denton, who leads the midsize newspaper in Wisconsin, cited three kinds
of training: broad-based training from school; skills-training such
as reporting, writing, interviewing, and photography; and general education
so journalists can communicate intelligently with readers and viewers.
“The world is becoming a more complicated place,” Denton said.
“We’re dealing with issues we never thought we would. We need
to learn new techniques.”
“The Kalb Report,” which is underwritten by a grant from the
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is co-sponsored by The George
Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, The Joan Shorenstein
Center on the Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University
and the National Press Club. GW and the National Press Club have
produced 31 programs in the “The Kalb Report” series since
1994. Forums have covered issues at the intersection of public
policy and the press, including talk show democracy and covering the
private lives of public officials.
Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu
