Grow and Retain Staff

Ken Doctor at the Local News Summit. Photo: Jessica Yurinko.

It was a hellish winter for journalism. More than 500 journalists lost their jobs in January alone, and the layoffs continued into February and March.

Speaking at the 2024 Local News Summit hosted by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and Aspen Digital, Christopher Baxter, the CEO and president of Spotlight PA said publishers must focus on retaining their talent.

“Reporters are the beating heart of what we do. We need to recognize that and think about how we support staff and make sure their salary, benefits, culture are fair and keeps people around.”

– Christopher Baxter, Spotlight PA CEO & President

Here are some of the ideas shared and needs identified around how to retain talent:

Leaders should be transparent with staff members so they understand the economics of the news industry and aren’t surprised if things go wrong. This is especially important in unionized newsrooms.

Unionization is going to continue to grow throughout the field, and leaders should take steps to respect the choices of their employees and work to field a collaborative relationship with the unions. The next generation of leadership is likely going to rise through the union ranks, so by including them in management will elp grow the future of their organizations.

Many news leaders have not had formal training in management or leadership.

“Lots of people who work in newsrooms don’t understand organizational development. We need instructions on how to develop culture.”

– Cierra Brown Hinton, Blue Engine Collaborative Development Director

Most of the discussion on journalism jobs has focused on the number of jobs lost, but not on the quality of those jobs. Many organizations are not paying staff enough to live in the communities they’re covering and not giving them adequate training.

“It shouldn’t be about how cheaply you can do it, but what you can do to support the staff and community. More largely, we need to focus now on re-professionalizing this business, both in the newsrooms and on the business side.”

– Ken Doctor, Lookout Local Founder

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Dive Deeper

Keep reading for more lessons from the third annual Local News Summit.

The Business of Community

“News deserts are also food, transit, and broadband deserts. Does the need for news outweigh those other concerns,” asked S. Mitra Kalita.

Vivian Schiller

V.P. & Executive Director

Jim Friedlich

Executive Director & CEO, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism

April 23, 2024

Elections, A.I., Mergers, and Investments

Lessons from the 3rd annual Local News Summit show how local news leaders are tackling the challenges of our time.

The A.I. Elections Advisory Council

Aspen Digital