Last Updated: January 26, 2000
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Hiring issues
Recruiting has become more and more difficult. Recruiting for diversity
requires even more innovative approaches. Small newspapers that are part
of a group could benefit from some corporate help with this situation.
The Blethen family, which owns The Seattle Times, the Yakima (Wash.)
Herald-Republic and the Walla Walla (Wash.) Union-Bulletin, began a special
internship program in 1994 to help groom minority journalists and to expose
them to newspapers and communities of various sizes.
The internship, which is coordinated by Patricia Foote, assistant managing
editor for hiring and staff development at The Seattle Times, is open to
recent minority graduates. It consists of one year — four months at the
Union-Bulletin, four months at the Herald-Republic and four months at the
Times. An apartment is provided rent-free in each community. Electricity
and basic phone services are included. The salary increases as the journalist
moves to each new location. The individual earns five days of vacation
after six months and is paid another five days of vacation at the end of
the program. Medical coverage is provided. The intern must provide his
or her own car.
“Starting the three-newspaper intern program was a reflection of the
approach and attitude The Seattle Times has taken to diversity over the
past decade — ‘just do it!’,’’ said Frank Blethen, publisher of The Seattle
Times. “Our industry has a tendency to study diversity to death and then
to avoid actions that are expensive and where success can’t be measured
by traditional bottom-line financial measurements. We also have a tendency
to look at all the reasons something won’t work, rather than how to make
it work.
“In this case, we looked for a way to overcome the financial hardship
of young journalists, the relatively low pay (compared to metros) of small
dailies, and what can sometimes be the reluctance of young urbanites to
consider rural areas as places to live and work. That’s where the idea
of an apartment, a decent wage, some benefits, an established timeframe
— and lots of experience to put on the resume — came in. We removed the
obstacles and created incentives.”
At the end of the internship, the company provides help in finding full-time
employment at a daily newspaper. Several of the interns have remained with
the company at one of the three newspapers. Others have been successful
in landing jobs at other newspapers.
“The time and feedback the editors and fellow reporters have so generously
shared with me has been invaluable,’’ said Naomi Dillon, a recent intern.
“For me, one of the most gratifying parts of the program has been how
enthusiastically it has been embraced by those at our newspapers,” said
Blethen. “There has to be an altruistic element: a true belief that we
all have an obligation to help the industry enlarge the pool of minority
journalists. Selfishly, we hope many of the interns will become permanent
staffers at our newspapers and that we will develop a reputation as a preferred
place of employment. “
One of the difficulties small newspapers have had to overcome is the
reluctance of minority candidates to look outside of the metro area. “As
important as anything, the Blethen Internship means there will always be
minority news staff even on our smallest and most rural newspaper,’’ Blethen
said.
Many of the interns begin the Blethen program with a “if I have to go
to Walla Walla to end up in Seattle, I will’’ attitude. All of them have
been surprised at how much they enjoyed Walla Walla and Yakima. If not
for the internship, they would not have considered smaller newspapers.
After the program, some of them found jobs at smaller papers and others
have encouraged their friends to give smaller newspapers a try.
“Beyond the journalistic skills I have acquired, I have learned what
it’s like to live in a small community where feedback, negative and positive,
is as close as a phone call away,’’ Dillon said. “I have also lived in
a city where I have had to put my knowledge of the Spanish language to
the test. I’ve learned what it’s like to work under four different bosses,
all of whom have different philosophies on writing.’’
This program has “graduated” 15 journalists and currently has three
people in the program. While this isn’t a number that will solve the recruiting
difficulties of all newspapers, it has added to the pool of trained journalists.
If other groups would adopt similar efforts the numbers could grow more
quickly. “When the qualified pool of candidates is so very small, how are
mainstream papers supposed to achieve diversity?’’ asked Jose Romero, a
recent intern. “I guess the answer is one step at a time.’’
All newspapers can benefit from these programs. But the newspapers that
bring these talented individuals into their offices and their communities
are the ones that benefit the most. These aspiring journalists help bring
a different voice and a different viewpoint to the coverage. They help
assure that the paper fulfills its mission to represent the entire community.
“To be sure, this is a very expensive program, especially for a stand-alone,
independent newspaper,’’ Blethen said. “But the benefits are well worth
it.”
Doyle, chair of the Small Newspapers Committee, is editor of the
Walla Walla (Wash.) Union-Bulletin.
