Data speaks volumes about how your company is doing. I get it... numbers matter. If you're a newsroom manager, you want growing viewership. One way to get that done is to have more news pieces so more stories can be covered that satisfies a lot more people's interests. But instead of hiring more staff, you squeeze your existing staff to the last drop.
Reporters working in medium and small-size cities are often pushed to do one-man band (producer/ interviewer/videographer/driver/editor-all-in-one). They have to cover at least three to four stories a day... some say they were asked to do six. No, not six versions of a couple of stories per day, but actually six different news stories. To top it off, reporters have to create a web-version, tweet the story, and engage the viewers both online and offline.
As human beings with time constraints, it comes down to either doing a few things very well or doing everything at the bare minimum. Unfortunately, management prefers the latter. But, in the world of journalism, it's not only about how many news articles your newsroom produces in a day that will raise your ratings, viewer count, Facebook 'Likes' and/or circulation. It's also about relevance and quality. Not just quantity.
If your news pieces are irrelevant or of poor quality, they do not hold any value. They do not deserve and will not get any attention. You might try the shocking headline tactic to get people to do a double-take, but that's all you'll get. Soon enough, advertisers will get in on the pathetic attempt to inflate your numbers and channel their advertising dollars elsewhere.
You may say, "Well, that's how we'll weed off the poor performing newsrooms." Unfortunately, this is done at the expense of talented journalists who would've earned your newsroom an award or two if given the chance and resources to make it possible.
Great managers should strive to find the balance between quality and quantity in an ever-changing environment.
Reporters working in medium and small-size cities are often pushed to do one-man band (producer/ interviewer/videographer/driver/editor-all-in-one). They have to cover at least three to four stories a day... some say they were asked to do six. No, not six versions of a couple of stories per day, but actually six different news stories. To top it off, reporters have to create a web-version, tweet the story, and engage the viewers both online and offline.
As human beings with time constraints, it comes down to either doing a few things very well or doing everything at the bare minimum. Unfortunately, management prefers the latter. But, in the world of journalism, it's not only about how many news articles your newsroom produces in a day that will raise your ratings, viewer count, Facebook 'Likes' and/or circulation. It's also about relevance and quality. Not just quantity.
If your news pieces are irrelevant or of poor quality, they do not hold any value. They do not deserve and will not get any attention. You might try the shocking headline tactic to get people to do a double-take, but that's all you'll get. Soon enough, advertisers will get in on the pathetic attempt to inflate your numbers and channel their advertising dollars elsewhere.
You may say, "Well, that's how we'll weed off the poor performing newsrooms." Unfortunately, this is done at the expense of talented journalists who would've earned your newsroom an award or two if given the chance and resources to make it possible.
Great managers should strive to find the balance between quality and quantity in an ever-changing environment.