The best part of my job is simple: seeing others do well.
Nothing gives me more joy than watching an aspiring writer or editor improve in all aspects. At the end of the day, that’s just as satisfying as meeting a deadline or putting together a top-notch front page.
I took this position with the goal of developing writers and editors. Making the paper look nice every day is very important, but our organization suffers in the long run if our writers and editors don’t improve as the semester goes along. Plus, these journalists’ best interests aren’t served if they don’t receive the right kind of guidance.
Thus, my editors and I commit ourselves to helping anyone who walks through the door. We hold workshops and have one-on-one talks with writers. We speak to journalism classes. We push our writers, photographers and copy editors to be better. We give them our honest opinions and suggestions on how they can get better.
Some of these journalists take our advice to heart and eventually get better. Others give up and find other things to do with their time.
But I’m thankful for those who stick with the newspaper business and work things out.
When they succeed, I succeed as an editor.
