Five days a week a miracle happens here at The Register — we meet deadline.
I’m sure restaurant managers feel the same rush as they successfully satisfy each day’s breakfast, lunch or dinner crowd.
It takes a team effort. Not one of us has the ability to do it on our own, and, like a band or choir it takes all hands on deck to create an orchestrated harmony.
By necessity, the news side starts early. Frequently reporters have been at meetings or events the night before and have their stories ready to read by the time I waltz in at 7 a.m.
We’re a genial bunch, but usually save the small talk for after we’ve met the 10 a.m. deadline.
We get silly trying to think of catchy headlines. We’re brutally honest about each other’s photos and copy. A newsroom is no place for egos.
Getting that right combination of players is the goal of every manager. When I scout out the Register crew I see a multitude of personalities and styles — from staid to flirty — that miraculously “click.”
To the newsroom’s yin is the yang of the advertising department.
A running joke between the two is how we view time. Advertising likes to works weeks in advance with packages — home and garden, weddings, auto racing, summer sports, etc. — while in news we’re pretty comfortable starting every day with a clean slate.
Ad people are very visual and think how the look of a package will impress the reader. They talk about type fonts, colors and graphics. They think about how they best can serve their individual clients, where, frankly, over in news that goes somewhat against our grain. Our only “client” is the public and we draw a line between what is “news” and “self-promotion.”
There’s less tension between the two departments than one might imagine because of the respect that has developed from our long history of working together.
Sandwiched in between news and advertising is circulation, accounts receivables and payables. These quiet-natured women play gamely along as those in news and advertising banter gamely across the office, knowing they are the true ballast of the operation.
DESPITE our defined roles, I like to think we’re a fluid operation. We keep tweaking responsibilities to see if they fit another’s personality and talents better. My job is to help employees find their strengths and then give them a long leash. I firmly believe that the more relaxed I can be as a manager, the more productive we are as a unit.
As I’ve grown into this position I’ve learned that being a boss has nothing to do with me making demands, but of creating the best working environment possible for my employees.
The paybacks are boundless.
