Good afternoon.
Thank you for having me here. It's an honor.
I was just like you, eleven years ago. I was
a senior at Temple and felt the promise of
a journalism future ahead of me. I didn't
know where my future lay, but I remember being
excited and nervous and curious.
A decade later, those feelings remain.
I'm still excited and nervous and curious.
And I stand here in front of you, admitting
that I don't know where our journalism future
lies. My peers and I have ideas, but it is
tough to predict how rapidly our industry
will change tomorrow.
And that's what I'm here to talk about. Change.
I've experienced a lot of change in my life.
I was born and raised in Zambia - an African
country that is known for copper, some wildlife
and the majestic Victoria falls.
When I was very young, my parents had applied
for residency in the United States. I first
visited America when I was 15, and a year
later, I came for good to begin college.
Now when I came here, I thought my life would
be like Monica and Rachel on Friends. Growing
up, I had watched some American sitcoms like
Friends and Beverly Hills 90210 and imagined
that to be the real America.
Boy was I surprised.
Here was this young immigrant woman. I was
sixteen. Far from any semblance of home or
friends.
I was a little awkward and a little shy. And
occasionally I stuttered. Life here was not
like the cool-images I had seen on TV.
Life was tough.
I had to learn to live a whole different way.
I had to adapt fast, otherwise I would get
left behind. So I changed.
I was no longer a spoiled girl. Instead, I
juggled different jobs to make some money.
I read voraciously. I wanted to know how others
were doing things so I learned by paying attention.
I had a minor in French at the time and spent
a summer studying at the Sorbonne in Paris.
If you are able to, I highly encourage you
to study abroad. I can't say enough how much
that experience helped me. I learned a lot
about myself and about different cultures.
I made some great friends from all over the
world.
Since I was a poor college student, I took
a student loan to pay for the trip. It was
a great investment and an experience that
help me build self-confidence.
In my sophomore year, I joined the Temple
News and reviewed websites. Can you imagine
we reviewed websites back then! I've looked
back and laughed at some of my observations.
I didn't know anything about newspapers, but
this was a chance for me to get my feet wet.
The fantastic staff there welcomed me and
taught me a lot.
I also tried to get internships.
I remember being a Fact Checker for the Philadelphia
Weekly. I hated calling up people because
I was nervous about stuttering. But I needed
to change that mindset. Otherwise how else
would I grow in my experience and do my job?
That same year, I took an "introduction to
new media" class. It was worth one credit.
We met in the evenings and looked at websites.
It was stumbling into that class that I learned
my love for HTML and web design and production.
I tinkered around with HTML and built my own
website, jigsha.com, where I experimented
with design and such.
I got an unpaid internship somewhere on the
Main Line. It was at a website for a gemstone
magazine. I took the train there, I think
the R6, and then walked about a mile to the
office. It wasn't an easy commute, but I knew
the experience would help my resume.
In the spring of 2001, I heard from someone
named Matt Deibel. He was an editor at Time.com.
He wanted to interview me for an internship.
He said he liked a website I had built a few
months ago for my sister's wedding. I had
little details for the gallery (such as beginning
and end and cute captions), and he liked the
fact that he got to know my family.
BTW, he Googled me in 2001. That was 12 years
ago.
I ended up getting a paid internship at time.com.
I was in shock.
Time was a magazine I had read growing up
with my dad. I couldn't image that one day
I'd be working there. That was a fantastic
summer. I learned so much. I asked questions.
I volunteered to do anything. I worked whatever
hours they asked of me. I absorbed as much
information as I could. Plus I got paid to
live and work in New York City!
That internship was formative in so many ways.
I had developed a confidence in my skillset.
It confirmed I loved doing online production
work. And I got a taste of my potential future.
It tasted good.
PAUSE
The beauty of having Time.com on my resume
meant landing future internships was much
easier.
I interned at Philly.com in the fall. The
work there wasn't extra-ordinairy. I helped
migrate a website and populate an entertainment
database. But that's OK.
The experience of working with others taught
me a lot of interpersonal skills and office
etiquette. And since I was happily pitching
in, they liked my work.
To plan for my summer after graduation, I
tested for a Dow Jones Copy Editing internship.
Does Dr. Ed Trayes still do those?
PAUSE
I had hoped to get an online editing internship,
but was awarded a slot as a wire copy editor
at the Knight Ridder Tribune Wire Service
in Washington DC.
I was surprised, but also curious about the
copy editing job. I was worried about my skillset
a little, but the two-week bootcamp they put
us through helped strengthen some of my editing
skills.
DC was a good experience. It taught me that
while I was good at copy editing, I didn't
necessarily enjoy it. I wanted to be creative
in more than just words. It confirmed that
online media and production was the way to
go.
I attended a job fair in Nashville in September.
I had some good conversations with recruiters
from different media companies such as Gannett,
Newsday and The Oregonian.
And I talked with a managing editor at the
Knoxville News Sentinel. A few days later,
I was invited to Knoxville for a job interview.
And that's pretty much how I ended up in Knoxville,
Tennessee for my first full-time job.
I hadn't heard of the place before and didn't
know anything about the South. But I was excited
to be earning a paycheck.
My boss in Knoxville was a man named Jack
Lail. And I owe a lot to him.
He is a hands off kind of guy, which I learned
pretty fast. It wasn't always easy not getting
direction, but it also helped me branch out
and learn on my own.
He had some ideas, but he liked us to figure
things out by ourselves. Since we were in
the corner of the newsroom for a while, we
were able to experiment and innovative without
drawing too much attention to ourselves.
One neat experiment we did was something called
RandomThis. This was before YouTube and we
used a simple point and shoot camera to film
short videos of interesting things about life
in Knoxville.
The key about these videos was getting them
turned around and posted to our website really
fast. The initial memory card could only shoot
10 minutes of video.
We used a video editing system called Splitter
and Joiner. And it did just that.
You had to ensure your audio and video were
on the right clips. It was a challenge as
we had to be creative, find interesting ideas
and then use this rudimentary technology to
make it work.
Since we were a little inhibited by our technology,
we sometimes reverted to something we called
Macgyver Journalism. Rubber bands, duct tape,
simple tools and technology -- all of those
were our aids.
It's crazy to realize nowadays that I can
pretty much do a quick edited RandomThis video
on my iPhone, all in about 15 minutes.
We also did bigger video pieces. There was
one time we were covering a trial, where the
Knoxville News Sentinel, sued the County Commission
for violating the SunShine law by having closed-door
meetings. I was tasked to figure out how we
were going to get daily video from the courtroom.
There was a pool feed by the broadcast stations.
I had to learn about XLR and RCA cables. I
had to know when to record courtroom scenes
and so forth.
Those were some challenging weeks.
I spent the day at the courthouse gathering
interesting bits of video testimony and then
spent the evenings editing it to post as a
summary online.
Something else I worked on was building a
community site for people who like the Great
Smoky Mountains National Park. Facebook was
still in its infancy, and a company called
Ning showed a way to build mini social networking
sites.
GoSmokies was created where people could share
photos, videos, and their tales of camping
and hiking. I had never made a community site
before, but the technology made it easy. I
just needed to ensure moderation occurred
and that all technical problems were solved.
The site now has over 2,800 members, many
of whom meet twice a year for a GoSmokies
hike.
During this time, I was promoted to management.
I was likely the youngest manager in the company.
I ended up becoming my friends' boss, which
was sometimes a little awkward.
But I worked hard along side my friends. I
helped share the burden, and they respected
my work ethic.
One project I helped lead my staff in was
creating a mini documentary on a horrific
carjacking, rape, torture and murder of a
young couple in Knoxville.
We made a 16-minute video that recapped the
case and showed the crime's impact on the
families involved and the community. This
was our first foray into documentary-style
journalism and we won a national Edward R
Murrow award for the piece.
As I was comfortably settled in my job as
an online editor, another challenge was thrown
my way.
In 2010, our corporate company E W Scripps
did some restructuring of newsrooms. In order
to fit the template, I was told I was the
new visuals editor. That meant I would now
also be in charge of our photo department
and I manage 9 people instead of 3. Also,
most of my staff would be much older than
me.
I was terrified. I didn't want to mess up.
I wasn't ready for such a change. For such
a challenge.
But my boss had faith in me, and I knew I
had a job to do.
I had a good eye for visuals, which helped.
But I also asked questions, learned a lot
and didn't let my lack of experience undermine
my knowledge or performance.
I ended up training our photographers to build
their own galleries, shoot and edit their
own videos, and promote their work on social
media more.
I'm sure at first my photo staff wasn't sure
what to do with me. But as I committed to
my job and learned about their photojournalism
work, I knew I had earned their respect.
A few months ago, as I was finally comfortable
with all the challenges that came with being
the visuals editor, something else happened.
I was on vacation visiting my parents when
I received a phonecall from my boss.
It turned out HIS boss was interested in me
becoming a site director at a Scripps property
in Naples, FL. A site director is the publishing
leader for a website and digital platforms.
When I first heard the news, I was stunned.
I couldn't imagine doing the work my boss
did.
But my boss was insistent. He said these opportunities
didn't come around very often and I had to
seriously consider it. I sat in my parent's
kitchen, crying.
I was scared of this big change.
My life in Knoxville had gotten very comfortable.
I loved my job. I had built a big group of
friends. I had my wine bars and restaurants
and didn't want to rock that nice, easy life
I had made for myself.
But I also knew that if I didn't take this,
I would always question "what if?"
Someone said I was showing courage by doing
something that I wasn't sure about. But I
just thought of my own self-respect.
Knowing that I had turned something down,
because I was scared about it, would not sit
well with my conscious.
Fear should not stop me from growing in new
ways. I had to trying something new. I had
to grow. I had to change.
After throwing myself a few farewell parties
in Knoxville, I got in my car and drove south
to Naples.
And guess what? I like this new job a lot.
I have been challenged in more ways than I
even imagined.
I haven't done as much journalism. Instead
I've handled more questions about feeds and
obits and processes and such. I know a lot
more about the business end of of website
now.
I've only been there six weeks, but already
I know what a great career move this has been
for me.
As a female leader, I hope I can eventually
be a role model for some. As women, we tend
to worry about risk and failure. It's important
to take a risk.
This risk was an huge change in my life. And
not one I would have thought to make. I'm
glad my boss helped nudge me into it.
PAUSE
The Naples Daily News will soon be undergoing
a big change. We will start charging for some
content next week.
This is a model that many newspapers are going
through, as I'm sure you've heard.
Commenters and non-subscribers ask about that
and say we'll drop traffic. And that we'll
lose readers.
But you know what? it's important to test
it out.
Our industry cannot be complacent and just
sit here thinking we're going to be fine as
our readership declines and as we struggle
to maintain a staff and pay them.
I read a report last week that the New York
Times paid model is working. Their circulation
revenue grew over 6 percent last quarter.
But while it's easy to start charging for
stories, it's also important that we are delivering
value and offering our readers a robust experience
wherever they are.
My parent company, Scripps, is investing in
how we approach these different media, with
an initiative called 4 platforms. We are trying
to figure out how we can best deliver news
content on mobile, web, tablet and print.
Each experience is different, and it's inherent
for us to understand how we can better report
the news and showcase our journalism on those
different platforms.
Others will say that blogs and social media
will prove there is no need for a mainstream
media. I think they're wrong.
What are you going to do when a big breaking
news event occurs and there is a flurry of
news, some of it incorrect? Anyone who has
a smartphone or a social media account can
easily disseminate information.
Tweets, instagrams, FB status updates etc.
How are you going to find the clarity in a
very noisy situation.
I'm referring to the Boston Blasts that occurred
two weeks ago of course. There was a flurry
of photos. Folks on Reddit pinpointed someone
else as the culprit. The New York Daily News
photoshopped a gory image. Everyone, from
news organizations and people on Twitter,
were rushing to publish bits of information
and breaking news.
That's where our value as journalists comes
in. We help make sense of the news.
We vet the information and ensure that what
is being reported is fact and not speculation.
The need for strong editing, and curating
is more important now than ever.
Journalism is not only about going out to
the scene and reporting the story. It's also
about sifting through social media messages,
presenting the news in an easy to understand
fashion such as data, charts or maps, and
helping our readers understand the situation
and provide context.
As consumers change the way they get the news,
we need to change too.
And you're probably thinking, haven't we already
changed enough? Unfortunately, we have not.
Mobile is huge. How many folks feel naked
without their smartphone? I do. It's the last
thing I look at at night and the first thing
I reach for in the morning. If we wish to
be relevant, we need to make sure we're reaching
an audience there.
Journalism is a service industry. While it's
wonderful and empowering to do big J journalism
work, know that sometimes small bits of news
or alerts that help make peoples' lives a
little easier is part of our mission too.
PAUSE
I'd also like to remind people that curiosity
doesn't end when you return from the scene
of a reporting situation. Having worked with
storied journalists for the past 11 years,
it baffles me that people turn off their curiosity
when they get back to their desks.
Please, be curious. Read news other than industry
publications and Facebook.
Figure out how things work. You know that
button on your camera? What does it do? It
is important for you to experiment and test
it out. As long as you don't hit a button
that says DELETE ALL FILES, you're likely
not going to do much damage.
Do not wait to be told how to do something.
FIgure it out yourself. You have no idea how
valuable you'll be if when you enter a newsroom,
you take the initiative and do things, instead
of waiting to be given instructions on every
single task.
Do not let the fear of failure stop you from
trying. There were many times in my career
I thought I was going to fail. And there are
times that I did.
For instance, there was one time a man admitted
to killing a young woman outside her apartment.
It had taken a while to break the case. I
was at the courthouse already covering the
sunshine trial i mentioned earlier. So I ran
down and filmed the police briefing. I also
filmed the the guy being put into a cop car
and being driven away. And as he sat inside
the car, he admitted his guilt.
I was really happy to get this footage. But
when I looked back at my camera, I was not
recording. I had apparently toggled on and
off and missed the most compelling part of
the moment.
I was furious with myself. I went to our newsroom
and told an editor what had happened. I think
my self-frustration was so strong, they took
some pity on me, and I didn't get chewed out
like I thought I would. I ended up salvaging
the situation, but after then I learned a
good lesson -- always pay attention to my
red light so I know I'm recording.
Being open to failure also teaches you humility.
Humility is important in our industry. We
provide a service where we report peoples'
stories. They place their trust in us. We
cannot undermine that.
And while you are kind to your subject, remember
to be kind to your colleagues.
No one enjoys working with an abrasive personality.
If you don't get along with your peers at
even the most basic level, no one will enjoy
working with you. If you run a small business
where you deal with only yourself, that's
fine. But if you're working in a newsroom
with many other personalities, it's crucial
to get along. The job is tough. You don't
want your colleagues to make it even more
difficult.
My personal philosophy is one can never be
guilty of too much kindness. It will take
you far in life. Thank people when they help
you, and not just via text. I'm still baffled
that people don't send thank you emails after
job interviews. So there's my hint to you.
Finally, show up. Show up to life. You will
not be handed things on a platter. Show up
and seize the opportunity.
While I often say it's luck that I've had
this great career, I know it's because I made
the point of showing up. We have this one
life given to us. And there are so many awesome
things to do. Do not let opportunity pass
by without making a point of seizing it. If
you wait too long, your chance may be gone.
And be open to change. It'll be scary and
thrilling and fun and unnerving. But the ride
is so worthwhile and the lessons you learn
will be invaluable. I would never have expected
my career path to be where it is today, and
I'm very thankful for that.
Thank you for your time.
