Remote work’s hot air balloon: You can’t learn journalism from home

We learn by watching others demonstrate how — or how not — to do the work, whether editing other colleague’s copy or covering the cops.”

Jerry Bellune, retired newspaper publisher and author of "The Art of Compelling Writing"

Remote work may thrive elsewhere but doesn’t do well in the news business.

Many of the journalistic skills we learn are from veteran colleagues we work with, not at home in our jammies batting out tomorrow’s front-page stories. There’s no better way to learn than by listening to those who do it well. And you can’t cover the cops, city hall,  the legislature or almost anything else well that way either.

My first paid journalism job was as a copy editor on a mid-sized morning daily. The managing editor only hired me because the other better-qualified candidate turned down his offer.

My boss, Copy Desk Chief Ray Wilson, was a World War II Silver Star recipient. Ray taught me 90% of what I learned about copy editing and headline writing. That could not have happened as a remote worker.

We learn by watching others demonstrate how — or how not — to do the work, whether editing other colleague’s copy or covering the cops.

After working with Ray Wilson, I took two college journalism courses and discovered that Ray taught me more than the instructors. Ray had the advantage of teaching me, then having me do what I had learned and seeing it come out in the next edition.

When a prestigious university invited me to teach in their classrooms, I practiced the Ray Wilson approach. My students learned more by doing than any lecture I could give them — and their news copy came back to them with my editing.

Terence Mauri of MIT told Forbes magazine that traditional communication, such as email and memos, can be challenging to comprehend or follow. Remote teaching and leadership are not impossible but require willing students and the latest technology. This includes video conferencing, whiteboarding tools, chat rooms, task management systems and project collaboration tools to make communication more efficient and effective.

According to Mauri, tracking projects and ensuring tasks are completed on time may lead to improved management. Yet he failed to mention editors learning to become leaders by watching what capable leaders do. His remedies require costly software and leaders who can use it effectively. Large, nationally known and distributed operations with more significant resources may be able to afford this, but not most American media.

Another skill you can’t learn while sitting at home is teaching others to motivate themselves. Without motivation, almost no creativity or innovation occurs. Leadership requires teaching by example and continually discussing unbiased journalism’s mission and purposes in a free society.

Louis Gerstner Jr., retired chairman of IBM, believes it’s time to deflate the remote work hot-air balloon. “It isn’t a cold digital process,” Gerstner wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal. “It is a personal connection with all your team members.”

It requires immediate and constructive feedback amid the human factor, too. Working together in a newsroom enforces the idea that we are part of something bigger than ourselves.

As newspaper owners, my wife and I sought to increase revenue, cut costs and improve our bottom line. One of my hotshot ideas was to close our office, send everyone home and publish remotely. Then 9/11 struck, and we came together in our office to produce a dozen local angles on one of the biggest international stories of our lifetime. I realized then that working together was an emotional glue holding us together. As a result, we served our community better.

Amid the turmoil we find ourselves in every day, we need such shared feelings of dedication. We need leaders and their leadership, too. 

“If you aspire to tackle some of the great challenges we face,” Gerstner wrote, “you should get your butt into the office and lead others.”

Jerry Bellune is an award-winning investigative journalist and editing and writing coach. His book "The Art of Compelling Writing" was written for editors and writers who are losing readers and viewers. He and his wife are retired newspaper publishers and owners in South Carolina.