Leading change

Add comment April 2nd, 2008

In the last couple years, I’ve been fortunate to get out of the office to attend conferences with other journalists. I’ve learned a lot from colleagues who work in larger and smaller newsrooms than mine. I always take back ideas, and I gain friends in the biz.

Today and tomorrow, I am in Lisle with other GateHousers. This time, though, I am one of the presenters and will be discussing developing and growing a Web-first culture in the newsroom. The participants came from across the country and will go through sessions that examine how to lead during change, covering the news for today, tomorrow and beyond, and much more.

I am energized by change, and this industry is changing quickly. We’re not just newspaper companies. We’re information companies. We have to gather information — through words, photos, interactive graphics, videos, slide shows, audio and more — and distribute on the best platform(s). Most of the time, it’s the Web.

Still, we as journalists can’t abandon our newspaper product. We also have to be creative in how we deliver information across our platforms. So, we try new things. And we get together (like today) and talk about best practices and share ideas on how we can adapt and thrive in a changing industry.

before there was sudoku, there were…

2 comments April 2nd, 2008

… crossword puzzles.

when i watched the movie “wordplay” this weekend (a documentary about new york times puzzle editor and npr puzzle master will shortz), it reminded me how much readers love the crossword puzzles.

at the register star, we run a puzzle in print and online. when i was the features editor, i took numerous calls from upset crossword fans when something was wrong: the clues were off, the puzzle was the wrong day and so on. and they had every right to be cranky.

i only tackle crosswords occasionally but certainly enjoy them. as for sudoku? well, i leave that to my father-in-law, the engineer.

i do recommend the movie. i was interested to learn that crosswords only date back to the 1920s and ’30s in newspapers. i also was fascinated by how puzzlers write the darn things (and would have liked seeing more on that, actually).