Blog
News recruiting is competitive, sophisticated
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 06/22/2011 10:54:00
- In: Leadership in diversity sessions
Coverage of the ASNE Leadership in Diversity Sessions, held June14-15, 2011, in Orlando, Fla.
Old-line news companies struggle with a host of business challenges in this digital age. But top prospects still sign up to work in journalism, say editors and executives at five of the country's largest news organizations. Luring them are opportunities for growth, jobs with responsibility, mentoring programs and a sense of mission.
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Joyner is vice president of content, Community News Holdings Inc.
Old-line news companies struggle with a host of business challenges in this digital age. But top prospects still sign up to work in journalism, say editors and executives at five of the country's largest news organizations. Luring them are opportunities for growth, jobs with responsibility, mentoring programs and a sense of mission.
News recruiters compete against other news organizations and other industries, said Virgil Smith, Gannett's vice president for talent acquisition. He described losing a Wellesley College grad to a software industry job that promised a signing bonus, stock options and double the pay.
"Recruiting is complex," said Smith, who led a June 15 morning panel on finding talent. "It's not a simple business, just setting up the table here at this conference and others, and waiting for people to come to you."
Panelists were Sheila Solomon, cross media editor at the Chicago Tribune; Johnita Due, senior counsel and diversity council chair, CNN Worldwide; Karen Toulon, Bloomberg News New York bureau chief, and Mike Oreskes, senior managing editor of The Associated Press.
The editors described searching for journalists fluid in multimedia and social networking - but who also posses journalism's basics.
The Associated Press looks for curiosity, said Oreskes. "We're looking for the ability to think journalistically," he said. "We're looking for the ability to break news."
CNN stages networking events in cities where it has bureaus to find candidates who can work across platforms, said Due.
The Tribune, said Solomon, looks for people who show initiative and a willingness to take risks.
Toulon said Bloomberg prizes diversity in its newsrooms, including a range of age and experience. Above all, the company that focuses on business and financial news prizes accuracy.
"Especially in what we do, you can't be a couple of decimal places wrong," said Toulon. "The stakes are really, really high when you're talking about companies, currencies and markets."
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