Eight Lessons Working In A Newsroom Taught Me About Communication

After nearly 10 years of working in local news, I’ve realized the lessons I’ve learned go far beyond the newsroom. Here are eight things I’ve learned about communication that transcend industries.

Good communication starts with listening

You can’t tell someone else’s story, get all the facts, meet your boss’s (or client’s) expectations or expand your audience without listening. Listening also builds empathy, which is a critical component we’ll get to in a little bit.

Clarity beats cleverness

Leave the jokes to the comedians, because not everyone is going to get it. The best message isn’t the fanciest or the funniest: it’s the one that people understand on the first go.

Deadlines are a gift

Ever procrastinate on doing chores because what’s really going to happen if you don’t get it done today? In news, procrastination is the enemy. If you miss yours, you’ll have a bunch of time left to fill. There’s only so much chat time anchors can handle (especially for those 4 a.m. newscasts!), and it creates more work for everyone else who has to help you fill the holes in your show.

Feedback isn’t personal

Oh boy, is this one a hard lesson to learn. In news, there isn’t time for hand-holding. Put your ego aside, and listen. Everyone on the team just wants to make the best product possible.

It’s okay not to know everything

No one knows it all, although some act like they do. If you don’t know the answer, say so… and then go find the answer or someone who knows it.

Sometimes you get it wrong

This goes hand-in-hand with the lesson above. No one is right all the time. When you mess up, acknowledge it, take accountability for it, learn from it and move on.

Silence speaks volumes

This is actually something students are taught in journalism schools: let the silence hang. A lot of the time, the person you’re interviewing will feel the need to continue talking, and you’ll learn a heck of a lot more than if you had immediately asked a follow up question.

Along the same lines, a subject refusing to answer a question will say a lot more than a canned, PR-approved statement.

A little kindness goes a long way

When I worked overnights, there was a police dispatcher who was always rather unpleasant when we had to call and confirm something we had heard on the scanner. Instead of giving her the same energy back, one day I told her, “Happy National Dispatchers’ Day!” She was always great to work with after that and willing to tell me details other stations couldn’t get.