The next chapter: Going "home" to make a difference

When I retired in March from  Gannett and my role as executive editor at the Montgomery Advertiser, friends and colleagues said they would be waiting to hear about Wanda Lloyd"s "next chapter," so sure they were that I am not ready to settle down and completely rest in the near future. Even close  family members said something like "yeah, right," when I told them I was ready to retire.

Journalism and communications studies have been a lifelong pursuit for me. Ever since I was a high school student in Savannah, Ga., and later as a student at Spelman College in Atlanta, I have found opportunities to pursue my goal of becoming the top editor of newspapers. Now seven daily newspapers later and as a participant and leader in the transition from print to the digital revolution, I felt like I had done all I needed to do in newspaper newsrooms.

Even with a side step along the way as the founding executive director of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University, and lecturing more times than I can count in university classrooms, it took me a while to realize that my ultimate career destiny might be on a university campus.

I am able to report that my career has come full circle -- literally.

I left Savannah the day after I graduated from high school. Now Savannah State University -- where I participated in numerous communications workshops as a student, and where I have been a keynote speaker twice at the Southern Regional Press Institute -- has called  for me to return home.

In July I will return to the campus as chair of the Department of Mass Communications, and dedicate the next few years working with the faculty to ensure that students are prepared for a 21st Century world of communications.

Kudos to Al Neuharth, who preached media diversity

Al Neuharth has passed away. He was 89.

Neuharth was a giant of a newsman. He was also a self-described SOB who wrote a book --  "Confessions of an S.O.B." -- to prove it.

Neuharth, who is known as the founder of USA TODAY and who wrote a column for that newspaper until the end of his life, was one of the reasons I went to work at USA TODAY and Gannett 27 years ago.

Whenever  Neuharth, also at the time Gannett's CEO, and a few other senior Gannett officials would give an interview or speak to industry leaders about any topic, he would always find a way to weave into his talk the value Gannett placed on having women and people of color hold positions on every level in the company. Neuharth's position spoke to the very core of my own belief, that staff diversity is a way to ensure that journalists report with accuracy.

He was the venerable example of someone who didn't just talk about diversity, but he made sure his company's managers were held accountable for diversity. For a long time, that  culture filtered down through the organization. And he took that culture with him when he later became chairman of the Freedom Forum, which asked me to become the founding executive director of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute at Vanderbilt University in 2000.

Gannett's current CEO, Gracia Matore said this of Neuharth in a statement: "Al was many things -- a journalist, a leader, a serial entrepreneur, and a pioneer in advancing opportunities for women and minorities."

He was that and so much more.

Obituary of Al Neuharth: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/04/19/al-neuharth-newspaper-founder-dies-at-89/2097995/

As editors: Oh, the places we have been and the stories we have been able to tell

Ronnie Agnew and Wanda Lloyd at Jackson State University's Media Day 2013

What happens when two former newspaper editors get together?

A lot of war stories are told.

That was the case this week when I traveled to Mississippi to be the keynote speaker for Mass Communications Day at Jackson State University. The highlight, of course, was the ability to spend time with the students and impart whatever knowledge and advice I could share in about 30 minutes.

But a personal highlight, for me was reconnecting with Ronnie Agnew, former executive editor of the Jackson Clarion Ledger. A member of the university's mass comm program's advisory board, Ronnie was there to introduce me.

Ronnie is now executive director of Mississippi Public Broadcasting. He was executive editor of the Jackson newspaper for nine years, and managing editor there before that. 

When we sat at the luncheon table and looked at the printed program and my bio on page two, I mentioned to Ronnie that I hoped he was not planning to read that entire bio. He said "I didn't even see that bio until I got here today. I won't use any of it."

When the time came, Ronnie made the best intro of me that I've ever had. It was personal, professional and warmly presented. One thing he shared was that he was present when I won two major awards for media diversity, awards presented with a decade between them. I had no memory that Ronnie was present for either of them -- the Ida G. Wells award or the Robert G. McGruder award.

Now that we've both left daily newspaper newsrooms, Ronnie and I had a great old time talking about some of the highlights and low lights of our days as editors -- two of very few African Americans who have held these positions. Who knows, we may need to collaborate someday and speak together. Younger generations of journalists need to understand what it takes to get to be a top editor, how to keep those jobs and how to make a difference in communities.

More about Ronnie Agnew: http://mpbonline.org/About/executive_management

Forever friends -- in writing and in life

Tina McElroy Ansa (left) and Wanda Lloyd -- in our younger years

Do you have a close friend that you don't hear from for a long, long time, and then when you do get on the phone together, it is almost like it was yesterday when you last spoke?

I had that experience this week when I got a call from my college roommate, Tina McElroy Ansa. We talked for more than an hour.

Tina and I were assigned as roommates our freshman year at Spelman College. The college housing office paired us back in the day when there was no Facebook, no Internet and most of us didn't even use "long distance" to touch base on the phone. We wrote a few letters over the summer after we got our room assignment but met for the first time on the day we moved into the dorm.

Tina and I had a lot in common. We both came from middle-income families in Georgia -- me from Savannah and Tina from Macon. We both had families who instilled strong moral values in us and we both had family members who had been Spelman women before us.. We were both planning to major in English and we both liked to read.

But that's about where the similarities ended. Tina was charming and willing to try new experiences in life. My personality was more serious and stilted and I thrived on planning and organization. Tina showed up with just her clothes and personal items, but she figured we would probably go shopping for room stuff like bedspreads for our twin beds. I showed up with matching bedspreads and, if memory serves me, curtains or something like that for the room (like anybody needs curtains in a dorm room).

Tina enjoyed a good card game at night down the hall; I stayed behind in our room to work on long-term assignments that were not even due for another week or two. Tina pulled some midnight oil to study; I was usually asleep by 9 p.m. I made up my bed every morning; Tina didn't, asking "why, when I'm just going to get back in it tonight?"

Despite our differences, we both found our way to journalism and writing as career choices. Our rooming days ended after the first year but we are closer than ever today. Tina and I both worked for the Cox Atlanta papers back in the 1970s. For a short time we were even apartment next-door neighbors in Atlanta.

These days our conversations are about writing and changes in the media and publishing industries. I stayed with journalism, having worked for seven daily newspapers over my career. Tina left the newspaper business because she wanted to wrote novels. She has been extremely successful at it. ("Baby of the Family," "Ugly Ways" and "Taking After Mudear" are three of her literary jewels).

These days we talk about good writing and bad manners. We laugh and cry on the phone, depending on whether we are mourning the loss of our youth (arthritis is a popular new topic for us) or the funny antics of our husbands, who tend to make us laugh uncontrollably when we all get together.

Now as we face our golden years, we sometimes find ourselves having to remind each other of names or circumstances, memory not being what it was when we were 18 years old with almost all of our futures ahead of us. But we are mighty proud of each other's personal and professional accomplishments, and we constantly remind ourselves of the value of this long-term friendship.

To learn more about Tina McElroy Ansa and her writing, go to http://www.tinamcelroyansa.com/

 

Is there a future for newspapers?




Wanda Lloyd, speaking at Leadership Montgomery's
Lunch with Leaders series, First United Methodist Church

I was honored to be the speaker for the March 13 Leadership Montgomery Lunch with Leaders series. The most common question was "Will there always be a newspaper?" My response later.

My presentation, "The Evolution of News," included a look back at newspapers over the past decade or so -- since I have been in Montgomery as executive editor of the Montgomery Advertiser, the current state of newspapers and the future of news. Here are some highlights:

PAST

• A minority of people in the Central Alabama market had access to computers in their homes.
• In 2004 when I arrived in Montgomery, we were primarily a print product. Our online staff members didn't even show up for work until about 10 p.m. or later to post stories that would appear in the next day's newspaper. We hardly ever updated the site during the day.
• We determined that as the capital city newspaper, we had to own state government coverage and we committed resources in that area.
• With added resources, we recommitted to watchdog journalism and a strong state government team in this capital city.
• Newspapers tried to be all things to all people -- all the national and international news, full stock reports, full TV listings seven days a week, daily staff editorials and multiple letters to the editor, complete national sports stats.
• One of our most important target reader groups was women, especially moms with children still living at home.

PRESENT

• Demographics have changed in the market. The percentage of people who have computer access has greatly increased.
• The Web is a 24/7 business and requires staffing to meet the information demands.
• We know that our print readers are primarily older, at least 50 and up for the most part. And even people in their 50s and older access us digitally as well.
• Most people don't wait for the newspaper to track stocks, weather, sports stats
• News is carried via social media – including text messaging and the newspaper’s Twitter and Facebook accounts, which push people to the Advertiser’s stories online.
• Print readers have full access to digital products and the electronic edition of the print newspaper
• Newspapers have invested in technology for reporters and photographers and related training, especially for video production.

FUTURE

• First, some things won't change. Traditional values of accuracy, good writing, ethics will continue to be the foundation of credible journalism.
• Consumers need to understand the difference between authoritative journalism and stream-of-conscience blogging (not this blog, of course).
• News organizations are hiring people with the capacity for innovative thinking.
• There may be more free-distribution models.
• We will probably see more consolidation of functions, such as  off-site design and printing, and more compact sized newspapers.
• News websites may allow users to order up the kind of information they want and design the pages based on personal interests.
• News staffs may get smaller and may be restructured to deliver news for the 2st century.
• Newspapers will be more engaging with their local audiences, such as blogging, community writers, local commentary voices and writing.

Now, for that important question: "Will there always be a newspaper?"

My response is yes, at least for the generation of adults now at least 50 years and older for the rest of our lives. However, if I had a to make a decision about whether small and medium-sized communities will have a newspaper seven days a week, I would suggest dropping the Monday print edition pretty soon. In many location, Monday's is the smallest newspaper of the week with the least amount of resources. The exception would be in communities with pro sports teams that play on Sunday. The Times-Picayune in New Orleans is doing that already.

What do you think is the future of newspapers and delivery of news products? Please join the conversation with a comment below.

(Thanks to Stacia Robinson for the quick snapshot of me above.)

Byron Pitts inspires, encourages young journalists

Broadcast correspondent Byron Pitts speaking at Region III NABJ conference
in Charlotte, NC, on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University

 

The National Association of Black Journalists -- the largest organization of journalists of color -- has annual conventions in big cities, sometimes so big and so expensive that many of our members are not able to attend, That's why the regional conference in Nashville on March 9 was a welcome event to many journalists and students who don't normally have access to their veteran and successful peers.

Yours truly was honored to participate on a panel of top newsroom leaders for participants who have an interest in building their careers toward management ranks.

The highlight of the day's event was the keynote address by broadcast veteran Byron Pitts, who is leaving CBS News after many years and heading to a new position at ABC News. Pitts, a self-described "mama's boy," said he had to overcome stuttering and being less than a top student in his journey to network news.

Pitts challenged the group of about150 attendees at the NABJ event to dare to dream, just as he did as a young kid growing up in the rough East Baltimore, yet he dared to dream that he would someday be a correspondent for the CBS show "60 Minutes." 

Here is some of the audience reaction, per tweets during the event (#nabjr3conf):

@nabjprez2010: If your dream is only about you, then it's not big enough. @byronpitts quoting Deion Sanders @nabjr3conf

@NABJDigital: RT @skyphoto: .@byronpitts tells #NABJ: "Dream new dreams!" #NABJR3conf

 @drsyb: We must do what we have to do to be successful. Young people need us to pour blessings into them.  @ByronPitts #NABJR3CONF

@drsyb: The most valuable real estate today ends in ".com.". Encourage people to create their opportunities. @ByronPitts #nabjr3conf

@NABJDigital: RT @TenishaCNN: "I'll leave you w/ my momma always told me, 'Don't tell me God ain't good" -@byronpitts #nabjr3conf

(Thanks to Kathy Times, former NABJ president,for photo of Pitts above.)

Tribute to a young journalist, Maya Jackson Randall



Maya J. Randall

 

It is always sad when a young person loses a battle with life. I am particularly saddened at the news that my friend, Harold Jackson recently lost his daughter, Maya. to a rare form of leukemia. Maya was a colleague --  a consumer finance reporter at the Wall Street Journal.

I am saddened because Harold has been a lifelong friend. We met as high school students at the Southern Regional Press Institute at Savannah State University. We both pursued media careers. Harold surpassed me in education, having earned a Ph.D. in communications. He runs his own international PR/marketing firm in Atlanta.

I am saddened because Maya is just three years older than my own daughter, Shelby. Even though I've known Maya's father all these years, Shelby and I met Maya for the first time about a year ago when Maya and I both were speakers at the still-strong Press Institute in Savannah. My friend Harold introduced me as the keynote speaker that day.

I am saddened because, in addition to her husband, Jeremy, Maya leaves behind a son who will not grow up with his mother's loving care.

I am saddened because the voice of one of the nation's best reporters has been silenced. (Read about Maya's award-winning work in tributes below.)

Maya's friends have set up a fund to fight cancer in her honor.

Here are links to notes about Maya. Blessings to the Jackson and Randall families.

Tributes to Maya
http://www.gofundme.com/mjrmf
http://www.talkingbiznews.com/2/her-editor-remembers-maya-jackson-randall