In addition to cultural competency with different communities, these highly effective reporters also manage the challenges of life inside stressed and stressful newsrooms.
That navigation includes finding “tribes” of like-minded colleagues in all departments and helping to build bridges among those tribes; and when confronted with problems, finding constructive solutions rather than spending energy venting.
From an individual standpoint, affiliating with those tribes helps to “balance out the bad actors,” as one reporter said, who are impediments or distractions. From a workflow standpoint, a tribe that spans the news organization — from advertising and marketing to circulation and finance — can be a facilitator to problem-solving. These journalists recognize that getting a solution to an internal problem doesn’t simply involve complaining: It’s reaching the person who can actually do something about the problem.
Their deeper understanding of the newsroom culture also means these reporters often have the disposition to connect the various tribes. Stephanie Arnold said she gradually introduces reporters to new platforms, offering practical advice such as “Don’t use all the platforms at the same time” and “Don’t try new platforms on deadline.”
Clinton Yates explained how he works with more traditional journalists to get them to embrace new tools and responsibilities such as social media: He tells them how he played football, soccer and basketball as a student, and participating in each sport helped him grow as an athlete.
Likewise, he said, being skilled in many new facets of journalism also leads to better performance.
Why this characteristic is important in accountability journalism: Productive newsroom conversations are essential, says Kaiser. “In too many newsrooms journalists can spend too much time talking about things they can not control. The best journalists talk journalism with their colleagues. They talk about the best stories and what made them the best stories. They engage colleagues to critique their work and help them find ways to strengthen it.”
| Percent | |
|---|---|
| Eagerly adapt to new technologies |
18.2% |
| Spend time building relationships |
27.3% |
| Work to create context for audiences |
27.3% |
| Direct their own work |
18.2% |
| Smartly balance their time |
9.1% |
Data Source: Answers from our group of 17 accountability reporters.
American Press Institute
Share with your network
- 7 characteristics of effective accountability journalists
- Effective accountability journalists exhibit broad curiosity and eagerly adapt to new technologies and platforms
- Effective accountability journalists think about multiple audiences
- Effective accountability journalists work hard to create context for their audiences
- Effective accountability journalists smartly balance their time on story choices, audience interaction
- Effective accountability journalists spend considerable time building relationships with sources and readers
- Effective accountability journalists build connections and teamwork within their own newsrooms
- Effective accountability journalists find their own way and direct their own work
- Looking ahead: Some questions to start a newsroom conversation on improving accountability efforts
- Acknowledgments
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True or untrue, fair or unfair, what is being shared is the perception you are dealing with in the community. Learning about this is why you are there.
At the API Local News Summit on Rural Journalism, Community and Sustainability in Tulsa, journalists noted one skill they had and could leverage more and one skill they needed to develop to be better conveners, facilitators and connectors. Four categories of skills stuck out that local journalists and news leaders need to better and more impactfully embrace these new roles.
Good convening requires strong facilitation skills, influential and empathic leadership skills, and different listening skills than an interview — things many journalists likely didn’t learn or anticipate when they signed up for the job. To be good conveners, local media need resources and opportunity to equip their journalists with these skills.
