Reader's Corner

What does it mean to be a newsroom that listens?

Posted

The phone on your desk rings.

An email pops in to your inbox (several times a minute).

Someone comes to the newsroom to talk.

In each of these cases, a human is reaching out to you, and you have a choice. You can listen, really listen, or you can pray that the interruption will go away quickly because you have a ton of stuff to do. Important stuff.

The newsroom of interruptions requires powerful time management skills, to be sure. But sometimes, the most important thing you can do is listen. What we learn tells us about our community, which informs our coverage. When we rush from story to story, or we are buffeted from planning meeting to planning meeting, we're missing valuable opportunities to listen.

Read more from Jean Hodges, senior director of content with GateHouse Media.

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