Visual journalists swim upstream in the newsroom.
Our photos and graphics get cut when stories run long. We hear about big projects too late to do strong visual work. We can’t design pages we’re comfortable with when copy is chronically late.
Tradition dies hard. And journalistic tradition rests with writers and editors. Visual journalists rarely become executive editors, so little natural support exists for us at the top.
We’re different. Our training is different. Our equipment is different. We speak the language of composition and dimension–not sources and “nut grafs.” Our work is central in the reader’s experience of the newspaper, but not always central in the newsroom’s mind.
We’re a minority group.
Visual journalists may have to work harder to be heard, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. It’s worth the effort. It’s possible to change some dimension of your newsroom’s culture–if you are focused, compassionate, open-minded, and patient. Here are four principles for creating change in your newsroom.
Ask for what you need.
Don’t sit at your drawing board, wishing for more space. Don’t mutter about “word people” not meeting deadlines. Analyze the problem. Gather your allies around you. Then make strong arguments for what you need to do good work.
Asking requires courage; it’s an emotional risk. You might ask and be ignored. You might ask and be refused. But mounting a good case is a crucial first step toward change.
You will probably have to state and restate your position. People often resist change, even if they think you’re right. Be ready to make your case many times, many ways.
Be a good colleague.
Practice what you preach. Want reporters to meet deadlines? Meet yours. Want to be included in story planning? Include others in your planning.
An open-minded, proactive, dependable colleague has greater credibility when she proposes change. She becomes harder to refuse.
Want people to trust you? Extend trust. Want to be on somebody’s radar screen? Show them they are on yours. Want colleagues to care about your work? Care about theirs.
Maintaining good relationships–and your own commitment to change–also means objecting when someone has violated your trust. Be calm and firm; seek to understand before you accuse. Objecting requires another emotional risk. But if you don’t say “ouch” when people step on your toes, they’ll keep doing it.
Fight the right fights.
Be clear about what you want. Recently I heard a graphics editor at one of the most famously writer-driven papers declare, “I just want artists at this paper to have the same respect as writers.”
Good luck with that, I thought.
I suspect that what this graphics editor really wants is more lead time for graphics. But his frustration has become global and emotional–and impossible to address.
In The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey argues that the way to build influence is to focus first, and most often, on the areas for which you are responsible.
Start with yourself. Focusing on the shortcomings of others drains energy away from areas in which you can clearly make a difference. Channel your energy into advocating and being a good colleague, not finding fault.
Don’t agonize about whether people respect or understand your craft. That may come in time. Focus instead on getting what you need to do your best work and make the maximum contribution to the product.
You don’t need higher-ups to agree with you on everything; you just need a clear path as you move toward your goals.
Keep your energy up.
Pushing for change is hard work. Pace yourself. Making your case, being a good model, strategizing, and negotiating–these are taxing activities. Don’t overextend yourself. And never let opposition, no matter how vehement, send you into isolation. Instead, learn from it.
Persevere. You never know when you will reach critical mass and success. Lots of tiny events led up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Then it seemed to fall overnight, and the whole world was different. Cultural change often works that way.
A certain detachment is crucial to maintaining your stamina. Nurture your dream. But don’t become too fixated on how it will be realized. Leave open the possibility that you may get what you want in another form.
Finally, reserve energy for the rest of your life. Don’t put all of your eggs in your professional basket. Find pleasure and meaning elsewhere as well.
