Moving from SE to ME?

sprtswrtr10

One thing I picked up from working under someone who successfully pulled off that kind of culture change is that you will need to work, work, WORK. That might mean being in the office more than five days, working late a good deal, pitching in of a big story, covering an extra meeting on a full day or providing an extra body to help with design when needed. And that's something that should be noticeable.

The easiest way for people to tune out someone with a new message is to see him or her focused on leaving at 5 p.m. every day. There's a dissonance when you hear a leader preach preach doing things better while at the same time they don't attack their job with fervor. My former boss demanded a lot, but when you saw how much he poured in, you saw he was practicing what he preached.

(It also doesn't hurt if the changes bump out a few older writers who are extremely comfortable with doing the bare minimum. If you sell your vision well enough you can attract good young talented writers, and then you can teach them that kind of journalism you're talking about).

 

This is an interesting thread with quite a few examples of how a good manager can (and can't) get better results out of usually overworked and underpaid newsrooms.

Another aspect I've noticed over the years: "Hiring from within" -- as appears to be the case for you, sprtswrtr10, if you get the ME job -- can be both a blessing and a curse.

The obvious blessing is having someone who knows the community and the newsroom staff, and can be an example of someone moving up in the company. As in, "yes, if you do good work, you actually can advance up the ladder." That's not the case in quite a few places.

But the downside: it may take awhile for people to accept that you're now the boss, not just a coworker. Not to mention the problems that exist if other coworkers applied and didn't get the gig. Sometimes it's easier for the outsider, who doesn't have people thinking he or she is a "turncoat" for the inevitable times they have to make unpleasant personnel or budget decisions.

Anyway ... good luck.

 

Henry: As an education writer, I think that's a huge point.