What I’ve learned in four decades of journalism

1. Nothing beats a great story.

2. People drive performance, performance doesn’t drive people.

3. The rest is noise.

This may seem an over simplification in summing up more than thirty years in a newsroom but the reality is, journalism is a human endeavour. Its currency is people talking to, photographing and writing about other people.

Mastering the craft is to understand what it is to be human, observe and to then record those moments in time, in way that is interesting, informative, emotive and entertaining.

Leadership is exactly the same. Leadership is also a human endeavour. Understanding the motivation of those in your team, your colleagues, peers and managers is the foundation of being a great leader.

People first leaders are emotionally intelligent, inspire, empower, say “we” not “me”, support and develop those around them and, importantly, celebrate success.

The correlation between the art of journalism and leadership is bound by people as this quote by Joshua Oppenheimer beautifully articulates.

“The function of journalism is, primarily, to uncover vital new information in the public interest and to put that information in a context so that we can use it to improve the human condition.”

Journalists are passionate and driven and care deeply about the stories they are breaking and publishing. It’s not just a job but a career, a calling that for many is all-in.

Managing the expectations of reporters is a challenge but remaining human-centred, by understanding their motivation and motivation of their sources, is key to nurturing and supporting great storytellers telling great stories — consistently.

Surprise and delight

Journalism doesn’t have to be negative to deliver high engagement. The key to a great story is “surprise” — an unexpected fact — or “delight” — “wow, that’s cool” but it’s hard to ignore the negative “surprise”. We are all drawn to the negative: fear, controversy, crime and confrontation. The secret to effective negative storytelling is to also report a solution — or “what it means” — as part of the story arc. Context is essential.

Parallel Journalism

Parallel journalism is an audience-led formula for delivering highly engaging digital journalism.
The formula is: One + One + One = The “Power of 3” (Subject + People + Surprise)

It’s not enough just to write about a category, it must be humanised with a “surprise”.

1. Data shows the more surprising, the higher the engagement / readership.
2. Data shows it’s less about the category and more about the people in that category.

PARALLEL is more SHAREABLE: The more people share these types of stories more often and more frequently. This is the top “personality trait” of all stories that delivered the highest amount of engagement.

In conclusion, people-first journalism and people-first leadership deliver audience growth. Understanding the human condition in an industry that trades on humanity is, without doubt, the central tenet of success.