Financial concerns relating to circulation, advertising revenue, managing their budget and inadequate staff pay, were second on their list of worries.

Content issues were third. Editors at 80 percent of newspapers with a circulation of 50,000 or less worry about the quality of reporting and writing, whether the content is relevant and whether news stories are accurate and comprehensive.

In a 1995 stress survey by The Associated Press, editors reported that the credibility of the newspaper and self-imposed standards of quality are primary causes of stress. The same survey found that editors believe companies are increasingly focused on the bottom line, sometimes sacrificing overall quality. The survey also found that staffing issues, especially being understaffed and having a high turnover rate, are among the major contributors to stress.

In a 1993 APME journalist-satisfaction survey, journalists indicated that having the opportunity to grow is one of  two key "drivers’’ of job satisfaction. In other words, those journalists who lacked opportunities for professional or intellectual growth were more likely to be dissatisfied, the survey found.

It should come as no surprise, then, that editors reported in the ASNE Small Newspapers survey that they spend only 3 to 4 percent of their editorial budgets on staff training. To make matters worse, when budgets are cut back, the training budget is usually among the first items to go, despite the fact that well-trained and motivated staff members produce a better newspaper. Editors know that, of course. They also know budgeting realities aren’t likely to change.

So those who gathered in April for the Small Newspapers Committee meeting in Washington decided to ask editors to contribute their best in-house, low-budget training ideas to share with other editors. The committee also plans to put together a resource list of books, Web sites, tapes or other low-cost training materials.

Based on the lists, the committee plans to put together a daylong workshop using the ideas to do in-house training and mentoring. Once the bugs have been worked out, the plan is to make the workshop available to other press organizations for their annual or semi-annual meetings. The committee’s primary objective is to promote the idea that there should be an atmosphere of continuous training and learning in newsrooms.

We plan to have the training ideas, the resource list and the workshop ready to share at the 1999 ASNE convention in San Francisco. The training ideas and resource list will be mailed to those who can’t attend the convention.

If you or your company have succeeded in putting together a low-cost training program that has motivated your staff and improved the quality of your newspaper, please share your ideas.  Or, if you have found books, tapes or Web sites that are especially helpful, please send the information to Susan Kille at the address below.

Training can’t relieve all the stress or answer all the concerns editors have, but it can go a long way to improving quality and staff morale.

Susan Kille, Editor, NYTRENG Wire & Graphics Network, New York Times Regional Newspapers, 229 W. 43rd St. Room 943, New York NY 10036 or e-mail Kille@ nytimes.com.

Franklin, chair of the Small Newspaper Committee, is editorial page editor of the Asheville (N.C.) Citizen-Times.