How harnessing an inquisitive nature makes you a better newsroom leader, person and parent.
Most people end up in journalism because they are inquisitive, enjoy asking questions and have the drive to dig below the surface to find out what is really going on.
When I was a rookie in the newsroom, I quickly learnt that this is one of the few professions where you have the licence to be extremely nosy. Not that everyone is happy with this! But when you finally get answers to all those questions, it is highly satisfying – you uncover wrongdoing, hold people accountable, resolve issues and at worst, turn complex topics into digestible reading.
Being able to ask the right questions is an art, whether interviewing people or working out how much you don’t know about something.
Toddlers are highly skilled at this. Like little scientists, they approach life with open minds and experiment to see how things work. They’re also relentless with the ‘what?’ and ‘why?’ With this approach, they learn a lot about themselves and the world around them. What I love about my son is his sense of wonder.
The highlight of his week is visiting the local library. I still remember the first time he discovered the library. As a bookworm, he was beside himself. He ran up and down the aisles, loudly ooh-ing and aah-ing at every book cover. For a two-year-old, it was a magical concept that he could choose up to 20 entirely different books to take home, read them and then return them for another 20. As often as he liked.
Together we have learnt the names of all sorts of construction vehicles, and interesting facts about sea creatures and dinosaurs. He’s also inspired me to get curious about the motivations for his behaviour. Toddlers often get labelled naughty when they’re simply trying to learn about the world or communicate a need with the only language or behaviour they have available. If they can’t verbalise that they want to spend time with you, they may pull your hair because it gets your attention (even if it’s negative). A lot of my time parenting is spent asking questions that start with “I wonder … ?”
Challenging the status quo
As adults, we don’t always extend this inquisitive process to ourselves or how we work.
Even the best journalists and editors get tired. The profession has taken a beating in recent years. It’s hard to be inspired and innovative when journalists across the globe are losing their jobs and the inboxes of those left behind are full of toxic messages from strangers.
The pandemic was a wake-up call. I think it was akin to an accelerated mid-life crisis for so many people. Faced with our mortality, we had to make some drastic changes to the way we lived and worked. There’s nothing like holding a meeting with screeching baby on the couch, while you contemplate whether your sniffle is just a cold or Covid-19, to put you in touch with your thoughts and feelings. The ‘Great Resignation’ has shown that we are waking up to the meaning of work in our lives and the value of connections, whether at home or in the office. We’re working on our purpose and ourselves.
It’s this sort of disruption to the status quo that can be energising as an individual and professional.
So how can getting curious about yourself set the stage for growth?
Perhaps you see yourself as a certain type of editor or journalist. Tough as nails. Or mediocre. Maybe someone who knows the ropes backwards. Your labels may no longer be serving you.
My journey meant ditching a lot of limiting beliefs that I carried without scrutiny. Imposter. Lazy. Stupid. These were things I believed to be true because they were sewn into my source code. Thanks to therapists and trusted individuals over the years, I was equipped with the right questions to dig deeper and evaluate what was true.
Challenging my beliefs made me see it was not only luck, but hard work and the privilege to study that propelled me to get my Master’s degree and the job I have.
What labels are holding you back? What paths might your life take if you no longer believe things you take for granted?
Getting curious as a media professional also means knowing how you operate amid uncertainty and stressful situations. What triggers you?
Where do you find your flow?
What you do well and what makes you happy may be two different things. These answers, and the action you take from them, may be the antidote to burnout.
I have checked in with lots of media players in the last year about their state of mind. Whether working in TV, digital or print, they nearly all report symptoms of burnout. They know they are good at journalism. But they’ve re-evaluated their lives and some have decided it’s not enough for them anymore. Some have found their joy in hobbies. Others are nurturing side hustles and embracing their mistakes as they learn new things. A few have left journalism altogether. Sadly, they didn’t have the capacity or time to turn inwards.
Big picture thinking
Since January, I have been fortunate enough to take two hours from work every week to think about the big picture in media with talented editors and media leaders around the world. We have all seen the power in intentionally stepping away from the craziness of daily operations to get curious together in our digital postgrad classroom.
On one level, we’re digging deeper into our products/services, processes, positions, and paradigms (Tidd & Bessant model).
Looking at these elements in different ways creates a breeding ground for innovation. Take News24’s new CrimeCheck application: anyone can access crime stats on the police’s website. But this data journalism tool specifically answers the question of how safe your neighbourhood is. You can understand your relative risk of falling victim to a crime, thanks to the tool calculating per capita crime rates on a basket of crime indices. This service provides context in a world of noise.
There are plenty other examples of people challenging or changing the ways in which we tell stories and understand the world. I love what video publisher SEEN’s co-founder Yusuf Omar is doing with wearables and augmented reality. He made an augmented reality app that helps Muslims wearing smart glasses understand the Quran with translations while praying in Arabic.
Shirish Kulkarni from The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, meanwhile, has done interesting work around journalism processes. He argues that the future of journalism is modular. Instead of creating one story about an event for readers, modules of journalism can be combined manually or automatically in different ways to give readers stories that meet their diverse needs.
Another thing we’ve been looking at in our postgrad class is how we’re doing as leaders. It’s one thing to manage a team and another to lead. Did you choose a leadership title? Or were you just so competent that you got promoted to that role? How are your teams really doing? Empathic and inspiring leaders have never been more important.
When we get curious about the people we lead, we don’t take things at face value. We create space in our professional relationships for depth, understanding, growth, and ultimately, loyalty. When a great writer suddenly delivers sub-standard copy, we might assume they’re having a bad day. Or feel they’re making our life difficult. It’s easy to take things personally when we’re stressed. We’re only human after all.
This is where we could put on our toddler/parenting hats… taking a moment to observe and then testing our assumptions with gentle questioning.
Sometimes we may just ask ourselves questions. Other times, it might mean sitting down with the people in our teams to find out what’s really going on. Once we know what’s really happening, we can decide how much of it is in our control or how much coaching you need to put in.
Above all, know that asking all these questions might leave you with more questions than answers. That’s not the point. You’ll have changed in some way. I find that the more I grow, the less I “know”. I’m okay with that.
Jenna Verster is the night news editor at News24. She is enrolled in the prestigious journalism and innovation leadership programme with the University of Central Lancashire, thanks to a Google News Initiative scholarship. Besides adventures with her husband and toddler, she relishes pirouetting in ballet class and sipping a coffee alone while people watching.
