The era of the single-skill journalist is over. That's what I'm telling newsroom managers and those they lead. It's more than just reminding reporters who don't write well that there are fewer editors to polish their work. We're talking about multi-tasking that involves learning brand new skills. Word people becoming visually literate. Visual journalists writing or narrating, and mastering both still and video imagery. Broadcasters doing print, print doing broadcast, everybody doing online and knowing how to really produce for the Web, not just hand off work to be rescued or repurposed.
This is a time of reinvention. It can be thrilling or terrifying, depending on a few variables:
- Your interest in learning new skills.
- Your ability to overcome learning anxiety.
- The training that's offered to you.
- The training you seek and find, whether or not it is offered.
- The connections you make across old organizational silos.
- Your belief in yourself.
- Your enduring passion for journalism in changing times.
If you're still leaning to the terrified side, let me introduce you to someone who can do more than calm your fears. I think Kelly Zuber will inspire you. She's the Director of Digital Media for
WDBJ7-TV, a very strong station in Roanoke, Virginia. When she came to Poynter for a seminar on online strategies and we talked about collaboration, she seemed to have a deep understanding of how to work across departments and disciplines. As it turns out, there's good reason for that. In 27 years at one station, she's worked in a surprising variety of jobs. Each new job required new skills and new relationships. She'll tell you about them and share some important advice on reinventing yourself in this SuperVision video:
I shoot video. I shoot still photography. I write. I...
