8. Education, Training and Management of Journalists
Managing Generational Change in the Newsroom
The news print media in Australia face issues in quality journalism management caused by its inability to deal with generational change. Print journalism remains the traditional and best form of record and opinion, based on strict adherence to the laws of language, ethical behaviour and community accountability.
The Australian Press Council was formed as a self–regulatory body vigorously to encourage good practice in all those things and, of course, to help the community protect itself against poor governance in relation to basic freedoms and the right of citizens to know what is going on. These very pillars of journalism are under pressure from an unlikely source—the so–called Generations X and Y.
This comment is not meant to convey a negative in regard Generation X (1965–1981) and Generation Y (1982–2000). These Generations have and will continue to have a wonderfully positive influence on society in general. Indeed, if it were the “blame game”, it is the Baby Boomers (1946–1964) who are wearing the pointed finger over climate change and host of other questions of global leadership.
Of course, it is already being well–documented that the plethora of online publishing—blogs and the like—is a distinct threat to accurate, impartial and balanced journalism. However, it is more likely that it will be the Generations X and Y that ultimately will clean up the internet. It certainly has the Boomers stumped for now.
No, the pressures posed from Generations X and Y to the print media stem from their cultural variances compared with prior generations—differences made more distinct because of our sustained general economic well–being, which has translated into jobs and social mobility.
Generations X and Y today do not stand still. And while they are highly adaptable to change, it is the fundamental traditions of good journalism—the basics that should never change—that X and Y are less inclined to view as quite so sacrosanct.
Take the average cadet journalist today. She or he is about 23, intelligent, articulate, confident, ambitious, has a tertiary degree of some sort, has undertaken leadership education, has travelled, and is very information savvy. That is the upside and it is impressive.
The downside is this: they are impatient with their ambition, always wanting the next “thing”, and they will move from job to job, most likely leaving newspapers early in their career, perhaps never returning.
They are not “into” the pedantic nature of language as much as previous generations and less impressed by the rules and relevance of its construction. The education system has done its bit to help in this regard.
Newspapers are more likely—and this is increasingly obvious in regional publications—to suffer the same mistakes ad nauseam because of the above. And because of their mobility, new recruits are often unfamiliar with their journalistic territory and, again, newspaper editors suffer the frustration of repeat offences.
This “groundhog day” affliction suffered by regional newspapers is less apparent in the metropolitan journals which have much more stable workforces through better salaries, the attraction of the “big smoke” and the desire of journalists to be at the pinnacle.
While Generation X and Y are adaptable and smart, they also present a training program problem, simply because they are on the move, have less time to understand the need for discipline and have less patience with post World War II generation standards.
Social researcher Mark McCrindle, of McCrindle Research Pty Ltd, adds weight to this in his 2005 paper “New Generations at Work: Bridging the Gap”. In it he notes that Generations X and Y “value input, feedback and mentoring but abhor micromanagement”. And he says it would be a mistake “to view generational change as merely a life stage, or fad that they will outgrow”.
Some comparisons, based on research by McCrindle's company, show:
- Beliefs and values
For Boomers, it means “some absolutes, variety, freedom”
For X and Y, “few absolutes, lifestyle, fun” - Marketing and communication
Boomers: “descriptive, direct, below the line”
X and Y: “participative, viral, through their friends” - Management and leadership
Boomers: “cooperation, competency, doers”
X and Y: “consensus, creativity, feelers”
This does not mean the X and Y are poor workers, just that they want to enjoy work and value a balanced life. This is a work ethic that is about work–life balance and explains, in part, their tendency to peripatetic behaviour.
Today's newspaper management must learn to adapt if they wish to maintain high journalistic standards.
It could be argued that newspapers are out of date, and maybe for many in Generations X, Y and Z (2001+) they are. But the print media are not old–fashioned: its continued success, including embracing online, not fighting it, shows how adaptable it has been. If any medium appears old–fashioned right now, it is free–to–air television.
However, this is not about relevance or marketing, or fashion. It is about standards, and journalistic standards are slipping. This is not to say that newspapers and language, and journalistic standards, cannot adapt to cultural change. It would be ridiculous to suggest this and, if anything, newspapers remain at the forefront of popular cultural expression in Australia while television continues to wallow in American soap opera and the new “reality”.
What is important here is that quality journalism must be a platform built on accuracy, balance and due respect for language.
It is now so common to see in copy—the 1990's—with its incorrect possessive, that it is almost a lost cause. And how often do you see someone “refute” another's opinion? Asking a journalism graduate to describe a split infinitive likely will be met with a blank stare.
These, in isolation, may seem trivial and to that degree, balance, fairness, accuracy of fact and context of quote is much more important.
Language, after all, does evolve, otherwise we would still be talking along the lines of: “He draweth out the thread of his verbosity finer than the staple of his argument”, (courtesy Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost). Or take the word “love”. Elizabeth Barrett Browning once wrote: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Not so many years ago a well–known song–writing pair penned the words: “She loves you... yeah, yeah, yeah.” Today Love has become Luv and sells as dog food. (Advertising departments have a lot to answer for, too!)
Remember, though, that language is the basis of our democratic civilisation. Governments determine outcomes based on language and—much more importantly—the legal system must interpret, on behalf of the society that elects governments, those outcomes as law.
It is not trivial. So what is the solution?
For a start, it is not the fault of Generations X and Y; they simply are a product of our wonderfully evolving culture (and of the Boomers, of course).
It is really newspapers, and particularly their editors, that have to tackle this problem. Newspapers must commit more to training in the basics. For example, how many Australian dailies enforce regular (weekly) on–site cadet training, including shorthand?
Very few, it would seem. Apart from a disciplined program in place with APN, inquiries in all eastern states revealed that most Australian regional dailies have little in the way of regular on–site training and are hit and miss on shorthand, mainly miss.
Today, more than ever, workplace training is critical, where once you had five, 10, 15 years to hone your craft. The basics of good writing need to be reinforced not just in terms of accuracy, balance and fairness, but also in the construction of words that entice readers whose lives are inundated with media options. And it is up to editors to drive it, not company “boards”.
Mentoring is a much–bandied panacea among leaders of this era, however it is important to assisting Generations X and Y to better see themselves and how to best reach their potential. And it should be about their career, not just the now. A colleague once questioned, out of frustration, the point of providing training to cadets when “they're gone the moment a new opportunity comes along”. Well, what is better, a partially trained cadet or one without a clue?
According to Mark McCrindle, Generations X and Y value lifestyle and balance. Therefore, structure the workplace to better accommodate this: consistency, flexibility and feedback. And they don't respond to rules. Therefore, communicating the priorities is a greater challenge for the Boomer leadership, many of whom grew up chanting “dib, dib, dib; dob, dob, dob” at scouts (yes, the Boomer leadership is mainly blokes).
Workplace diversity is a key: gender, cultural, generational.
Generations X and Y need to understand the “why” in their work and, says McCrindle, we need to take the mystery from decision–making and empower more responsibility at a younger age than we expected a generation ago. Most importantly, today's leaders—predominantly Boomers—need training in management and recruitment to engage better with new generations “rather than expecting them to conform”.
These matters, if acknowledged and acted upon, will help equip newspapers to better retain staff and to maintain levels of consistency in all that matters in the delivery of quality journalism.