Author: Ray Ollwerther
Published: August 18, 1996
Last Updated: October 01, 1996
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The editor of a 75,000-circulation newspaper in the Northeast was concerned about a newsroom environment of "constantly pushing people into the pool, hoping that there is a lifeguard."

A human resource manager of a newspaper chain was spending a lot of time on staff retention, working with people on how to manage their careers.

In the newsroom of a 10,000-circulation newspaper in the Midwest, the concern was new hires just out of school who think they have all the answers: "the difficulty is getting them out on the street."

At a small daily in the Southeast, the editor wanted to provide more training and nurturing for the staff.

The editor of a regional newspaper in the Northeast was looking for ways to get more women and staffers of color onto a management track.

What drew these editors together was the Mentoring in the Newsroom roundtable, which coincided with the release of a report on the topic by the Minorities Committee.

"If effectively implemented, mentoring will inspire more trust and respect among newsroom staffs and give more insight into how to value employees, particularly minorities," said Maxine L. Lynch, managing editor for personnel and administration with the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Lynch, a coordinator of the mentoring project, said mentoring can help editors attract and retain a diverse staff while helping the industry address its diversity goals and ultimately better serve communities.

A structured mentoring program requires a long-term commitment from management, said Victoria Henderson, diversity and employee development manager for McClatchy Newspapers.

She had these tips:

• Identify the goals you want to accomplish. Be sure that all involved will be motivated.
• Spend time on the process of matching mentor and mentee. Identify your mentors carefully; they may be good at what they do but not at one-on-one nurturing. Give the mentee the opportunity to interview at least three potential mentors before choosing.
• Develop a agreement that each party signs listing topics to develop and the amount of time that will be spent together each week or other time period.
• Encourage feedback from both people on whether the relationship feels right and is working. If it isn't smooth, that's OK; open up the process again.
• Provide a simple assessment form with a few questions to judge success, including: What has changed for you? Have you learned anything different? Is the agreement worth continuing?