Five top tips to shift newsroom culture

This month’s Carnival of Journalism has returned to the well-worn topic of shifting newsroom culture.

Answering the question What are small, incremental steps one can make to fuel change in their media organization? a group of bloggers has been pitching in with possible solutions.

I’ve picked out my top five to share here but there are plenty more in the rest of the postings which are worth a visit;

At number one its Andy Dickinson who said: “Make some time, even if it’s just an hour a week for your staff to play. Try the web, join a club, anything that gets them out of the run of the daily grind and in a different mindset. But one thing I would add is that this is not just the responsibility of the management to make the space. Individuals have to use the time to play, not to go home early. “I couldn’t agree more – increasing web familiarity helps improve product, makes it easier to introduce ideas and ups people’s skills without the neccesity for formal (i.e. expensive) training.

Two comes from Journerdism who says: ” That attitude adjustment is an important one because everyone involved in large media organsiations needs to realize that whilst the value of the large brand is going down the value of the individual journalist is on the increase – sorry, have you seen audience/circulation figures lately. Giving time for journalists to invest in their identity is staff development and an investment that will pay you back. The only thing that will happen if you don’t is that they will go elsewhere and take all their personal brand equity with them.” I’ve a feeling many UK newspaper groups will wake up to this fact just too late which is why it’s so high on my list – reward your talent.

Three also comes from Journerdism – well he is the host – who says: “Herd your nerds and protect their time.
(Cost: Free-ish – Again, whatever it costs to move desks.) Your techies and high-end newsroom nerds need to be fostered and supported to grow.  The life of a nerd is a lonely one — especially in a newsroom where, as Regina McCombs so eloquently said (I’m paraphrasing here), ‘More people know what the newspaper truck driver does than the web team.’ Surround the nerds with people who see the world similarly and they’ll flourish, feel safe and happy at their gig and not leave you for Google. Bring them together in close proximity so they can feed off each other, bounce ideas and share pocket protecting tips (away from the main fray of the daily miracleso they’re not getting nickle and dimed by people stopping to ask them how to use email but keep them close/visible enough to still have a presence in the operation).” Hurrah for that! To get creative, people need to work with others who share their language.

At four, Paul Bradshaw makes a good point; “Make an effort to meet social media users in your community/beat in person at least once a month (it helps if you set up a meeting or join one that exists). Failing that, have a video conversation. Both strengthen community more than just text. Jo Geary does this brilliantly in Birmingham. “ Just because we work online shouldn’t make us forget to be journalists and get out of the office once in a while! Jo has indeed been an inspiration in this area and, finger’s crossed, the fledgling Social Media cafe here in Manchester will be just as successful as Brum’s

And finally….

At number five it’s Random Mumblings with; “Let people have pets, or at least pet projects. More specifically, let them own pet projects.” Yes, lack of ownership leads to robot journalism – let those who have a passion for something be those that develop it.