Shechtman offers advice on interviewing to NEX GEN class
If your typical employment interview is simply a checklist of questions, it's a colossal waste of time, Morrie Shechtman told members of the 2018-19 SNPA NEX GEN class during a recent video conference call.
Shechtman, an author and change consultant for corporate leaders, says he teaches his clients that a good employment interview is tough and uncomfortable.
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Meet the NEX GEN class of 2018-19
SNPA's NEX GEN mentor program helps newspaper employees with executive potential develop leadership skills and grow professionally.
NEX GEN protégés and their mentors will craft their own agenda, schedule times to talk by phone at least once a month, and set a time for a personal visit.
SNPA also arranges group video conference calls for participants about every six weeks and invites the group to participate in online networking opportunities with key industry executives.
The NEX GEN Class of 2018-19 includes:
- Mark Adams, audience acquisition and retention manager for The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C.
- Ethan Aden, digital sales manager for the Northwest Florida Daily News, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
- Mickie Anderson, local news editor at The Gainesville Sun, Gainesville, Fla.
- Tonya Maddox, publisher of the Montrose Daily Press, Montrose, Colo.
- Cliff McCollum, managing editor of Gulf Coast Media, Foley, Ala.
- Andrea Vick, local sales manager for the Austin American-Statesman, Austin, Texas.
Read bios of 2018-19 NEX GEN participants. MORE
Giving Back: Become an SNPA Mentor
Mentors are needed to pair with newspaper employees who have leadership potential in the 2018-19 SNPA NEX GEN program that begins in September. This structured mentorship program includes a variety of events and activities designed to strengthen participants' industry knowledge, professional relationships, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.
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Shared experiences
Two promotions. One switchover to outsourced printing. One major hurricane with historic flooding.
Robert Royer's NEX GEN year was busier than most.
Royer, 28, joined the mentoring program as multi-media sales and marketing team leader for the Victoria Advocate in Texas. About six months later, he was named retail advertising supervisor, and near the end of his NEX GEN year he was promoted to local display manager, with broader duties.
Along the way, Royer said, he learned about publishing from mentor Zach Ahrens of The Topeka Capital-Journal in Kansas.
Read about his NEX GEN experience.
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The Sixth GEN: Hugh Osteen absorbs new ideas for an old family
Hugh Osteen comes from a newspaper family. He was so well-acquainted with SNPA that he applied for the NEX GEN program as soon as he could – too soon, in fact.
It was suggested that Osteen get some more experience and develop his skill set before re-applying. A couple of years later he joined the 2016-17 class of the mentoring program for up-and-coming executives.
"I've been going to SNPA conferences since I was five years old," said Osteen, 28. "I am the sixth generation in our family in the newspaper business, so I kind of grew up going to all these things."
Read about his NEX GEN experience.
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Looking past tomorrow's paper
Tony Elkins, director of innovation for GateHouse Media, said his NEX GEN year with SNPA focused more on ideas than on personal development. He and his mentor often talked in the abstract and then focused on how to apply ideas and avoid repeating the mistakes of others.
Elkins enjoyed the NEX GEN program so much that he accepted an invitation to be a mentor to a participant in this year's class.
The year-long NEX GEN program offers newspaper professionals with executive potential the opportunity to develop their industry knowledge, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.
Read about his NEX GEN experience.
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Short-term challenges, long-term goals
Carlene Cox says her NEX GEN experience was less structured than most because her mentor was in the same city. That made getting together easier, which became important when she changed jobs.
Cox, 34, was director of newsroom development at GateHouse Media in Austin, Texas, when she was accepted into SNPA's mentoring program. At the time, she knew a job change was possible within the GateHouse corporate structure, but the specifics were still being worked out.
Ultimately, she was named director of specialty content.
The year-long NEX GEN program offers newspaper professionals with executive potential the opportunity to develop their industry knowledge, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.
Read about her NEX GEN experience.
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NEX GEN program helps Vic Bowers with job transition
Vic Bowers of The McClatchy Company says SNPA offered him practical application as opposed to theory during his 2016-17 NEX GEN year. "How to work in a changing environment. How to adapt. How to manage up as well as manage down."
The year-long NEX GEN program offers newspaper professionals with executive potential the opportunity to develop their industry knowledge, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.
Bowers' assigned mentor was Nancy Solliday, vice president/advertising sales for The News-Press in Fort Myers, Fla.
Read about his NEX GEN experience.
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Mentors are named for NEX GEN Class of 2017-18
Nine of the brightest talents in the newspaper industry will be serving as mentors for SNPA's NEX GEN Class of 2017-18.
The NEX GEN protégés will meet for the first time with their mentors at the SNPA-Inland Annual Meeting in Colorado Springs, Colo., Sept. 10-12. The 2017-18 NEX GEN experience will culminate with a presentation at SNPA's 2018 News Industry Summit in Nashville.
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Nine executives selected for 2017-18 mentor program
The SNPA Foundation has selected nine newspaper executives to participate in the 2017-2018 NEX GEN program. Each of the nine participants will be paired with one of the brightest talents in the newspaper industry.
The year-long NEX GEN program offers newspaper professionals with executive potential the opportunity to develop their industry knowledge, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation.
Meet the Class of 2017-18!
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We have a new website:
www.newspapers.org
America's Newspapers – the association formed from the merger of the Inland Press Association and Southern Newspaper Publishers Association – was ceremonially launched October 6 at its inaugural annual meeting in Chicago.
Dean Ridings will be its chief executive officer, effective Nov. 11.
America's Newspapers unites two of the oldest press associations to form one of the industry's largest advocates for newspapers and the many benefits to their communities, civil life, freedom of expression and democracy.
"Newspaper journalism provides a voice for the voiceless, challenges elected officials, shines a light on government, calls for change when change is needed, and exposes corruption and injustice," said Chris Reen, the president and publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs who will serve as the first president of America's Newspapers.
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New association launches today;
SNPA-Inland merger is complete
A new association formed by the consolidation of SNPA and the Inland Press Association was officially launched today. The name of the new association will be announced on Oct. 6 at the association's first annual meeting in Chicago.
Edward VanHorn, SNPA's executive director, said that the merger unites two of the country's oldest press associations into a progressive new organization that will use its bigger and more powerful voice to be an unapologetic advocate for newspapers.
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