ASNE webcast: Practical advice on leadership from editors who span eras

• By: ASNE staff
• On: 10/12/2011 10:00:00
• In: ASNE business

In a live webcast on Monday, Oct. 10, at the University of Kentucky, nine current and former editors and academic leaders put aside philosophical conversation for a pragmatic, behind-the-scenes discussion focused on the challenges facing editors today. Among the nine were careers that span the money-making, investigative journalism decades following Watergate to today's print-to-digital transformation taking place inside the financial pressures of the Great Recession.

The 90-minute conversation had enough conflict to keep it interesting, enough boasting to prove the points, sincere commiseration, and a lot of “here's what I did when that happened.” The journalists talked about how they handled their failures and disappointments, about resetting priorities when directions and resources changed, about ways to build relationships across disciplines, about changing their own management styles, about how to tell the big crisis from the “really, really big” crisis.

“This was an excellent presentation,” said Jane Nordberg of The Daily Mining Gazette in Houghton, Mich., who emailed ASNE following the webcast. “I am just finishing my first year as Managing Editor, and I learned a great deal from the presenters. Good questions, insightful answers.”

The webcast, divided into three, 30-minute segments, was archived and is now available for viewing.The program was the result of a partnership between ASNE, the University of Kentucky and the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center.

Discussion leaders included Kentucky Hall of Fame journalists John Carroll, former award-winning editor of the Los Angeles Times; Tim Kelly, retired editor and publisher of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader; Kyforward.com publisher and retired editor Judy Clabes; and, Ed Manassah, along-time Gannett editor and former publisher of the Louisville Courier Journal.

The Hall of Famers were joined by Michael Davis, executive editor, Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier; Herald-Leader editor Peter Baniak; Mizell Stewart III, editor of the Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press and chair of ASNE's Leadership and Development Committee; Kakie Urch, University of Kentucky journalism professor and media consultant; and Buck Ryan, director of the Citizen Kentucky Project at UK's Scripps Howard First Amendment Center.

The webcast was moderated by Linda Grist Cunningham, retired executive editor of the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star and vice chair of the Leadership Development Committee.

Leadership Live for Executive Editors - ASNE from ASNE on Vimeo.