We discovered the idea of "a handbook for every day’s life in the newsroom" after visiting Sveriges Radio or Swedish Radio (SR). This handbook is ‘the right track’ for everybody in the newsroom. This handbook might be useful for your newsroom too.
Why do we need a handbook?
You may reject this idea, having the grand thought that we journalists should be free from any rules. This is not a book telling you how to write your news. This is a guideline or code of conduct for every day’s life in the newsroom. Don’t worry; there will be no punishment or sanctions in this handbook.
But, again, why should we need a code of conduct? We don’t need a book telling us how to run things.
Let’s put it this way. Picture yourself in a newsroom, your newsroom. Have you ever been confused about what you are doing? You start to wonder, whether it is right or wrong. Or you just got your first big assignment, you are so thrilled, but you didn’t know where to start. Or when you got shocked after hearing an offensive feedback from your boss. Or, you are a frustrated young journalist, don’t know where to look for assistance. Or, have you ever fought very hard for story ideas such that in the process you accidentally hurt other people’s feelings? How do you know that what you are doing is right or wrong?
How do you handle that kind of situation? This is when you need a handbook, where you can refer many things. Anytime.
That handbook thing looks authoritarian to me. Where’s the democratic value of it?
The process of making and applying the handbook are the democratic values.
Try this. Sit with all members of the newsroom. Discuss about problems that occur in your newsroom. They can be anything: how to assist a new journalist, how to give feedbacks without hurting others’ feelings, agreement on meetings, aggreement on evaluation for your works, anything! Argue for whatever it is that you think is important to be in the handbook. Try to listen to others’ problems, whether he/she is the boss, middle manager or young journalist. This is democracy : where every voice counts. And then, find ‘the right track’ that fits with the rest of the newsroom. Make it useful for yourself.
And now, let’s say that someone has done something that is considered ‘wrong’ by the handbook. What should we do? Do coaching. Since there’s no punishment inside this book, talk about your problems. Try to find out the core of those problems through coaching. It is not necessary that the boss should always be the coach. Everybody can be the coach. You can be the coach! Refer to the handbook of the right track for problems occurred.
So, it’s a problem-solving book?
Yes. This handbook will give you suggestions and possible solutions. Well, you can’t expect instant answers to every problem that occurs in the newsroom. But it will give guidelines to keep you on the right track. This track will guide you to the real solutions, through coaching.
When should we refer to this handbook?
Anytime. Let’s say that there is a new, young, recently graduated, energetic journalist in your newsroom. He\She must be hungry for assistance, because she is not used to a real situation, environment and guidelines in your newsroom. Refer to the handbook and look for the right track to assist her/him. Surely, this new journalist will feel delighted about the assistance, because she/he knows that she/he is not being abandoned by the other members of the newsroom.
Or you are in the middle of a heavy argument about a story idea with your boss. Your boss has just rejected your idea and you thought it was the greatest idea ever to have crossed your mind. You feel very angry and you are ready to punch your boss because of that. Stay calm. Take a deep breath. Refer to this handbook, look for the chapter on ‘feedback’. Make sure that you will do the right thing : ask for professional and constructive feedback from your boss. You can do coaching as well, ask your boss to coach you.
Anytime, on everything.
This is interesting.
What’s more interesting is that you can always revise this handbook. Your handbook is too old and no longer suitable for the conditions in your newsroom? There are new prolems taking place in your newsroom? Revise it. Discuss it all over again. Try to find new solutions and suggestions for your new handbook. Change it. Make it suitable again.
It’s the process that makes this handbook alive. This is democracy at work. Thats what makes this book valuable.
[www.fo.hik.se; Journalism and Democracy Seminar, FOJO, Kalmar-Stockholm, Sweden, October 1, 2004]
Journalism and Democracy is a world-wide seminar launched by Fojo (the Institute for Further Education of Journalists) and financed by Sida since 1991. One of the outcomes of the 2004 year's course is this web-site, produced by19 journalists from 17 countries and designed by Nedjma, freelance journalist and web designer. Seminar leaders were Per Nygren, journalist at the Swedish daily, Göteborgs-Posten and Marie Kronmarker, trainer at Fojo.
