editor in chief or managing editor have? (Table 6, Question 1)
In the initial round, the expert panelists identified certain basic journalism competencies and skills as critical to the success of the top leadership position. The results were returned to the experts in Rounds Two and Three for consensus building. As previously stated these skills are not specific to leadership, but they are considered
important because most leaders need “functional competence” in their field to be effective. For the purposes of this study, and in keeping with Kouzes and Posner's definition of leadership competency, journalism competency was treated as one
dimension of leadership competency. Kouzes and Posner (1997) state they are “noticing a trend toward requiring more technical competence of leaders” (p. 25). This may be especially true in the college newsroom culture where it is necessary for newsroom leaders to be peer teachers (Harvey, 2002).
The experts were not limited in the number of competencies they reported. The panelists included both skills and competencies in their responses. Journalism
competencies, for the purpose of this study, are defined as having “knowledge based on education and/or experience and having requisite or adequate expertise.” Skills are defined as “a learned power and/or dexterity.”
The expert panel identified 24 basic journalism skills and competencies an incoming editor in chief or managing editor should have to be successful in that role. There was widespread reporting of most or all of the 12 skills and 12 competencies experts identified in this study (Table 12).
Table 12. Journalism Skills and Competencies Identified by Panelists as Important for Incoming Editor in Chief
Basic Journalism Skills
1. Copy editing skills 2. Basic reporting skills 3. Writing skills 4. AP Style 5. Headline writing 6. Photography skills
7. Computer trouble-shooting skills 8. How to write leads
9. Design and layout 10. Grammar
11. Mastery of computer software (Quark XPress, Pagemaker, Photoshop) 12. Mastery of basic news story structures
Basic Journalism Competencies
1. Knowledge of production process 2. Reporting experience
3. Understand journalism standards of fairness, accuracy, and balance 4. Understand importance news judgement
5. Understanding readership
6. Knowledge of journalistic ethical standards 7. Knowledge of media law
8. One year college newspaper experience 9. Newspaper internship
10. Basic understanding of advertising 11. Journalism background
12. Knowledge of photojournalism (graphic and legal points concerning images)
Editors often cited teaching or coaching new and existing staff members as one of their primary leadership roles. Since participation on many student newspapers does not require prior newspaper experience or a major in journalism, many staff members rely on editors to help them develop basic journalism skills through on-the-job training. In order to facilitate this training, it is important for the leader to be competent in basic journalism skills. College newspapers have a rapid turnover in staff creating a constant demand for training new staff members. The on-the-job training of staff members is usually the responsibility of editors. Depending on the size of the newspaper, the job of training can
be a major role for the editor in chief. Harvey (2002) discussed the importance of peer teaching within the college newsroom setting. One former editor in chief reported:
Ideally, he or she should be able to perform the tasks of every member of the staff (from staff writer to copy desk chief). Often this is not possible, but with a
widespread and vast knowledge a top editor can more effectively manage and lead the newspaper staff.
Another panelist reported, “Any senior editor, especially the editor in chief, should have mastered the art of news writing and reporting.” Another panelist from a college daily, who also had newspaper internship experience, stated: “Newspaper journalists tend to either be writers or copy editors. I have watched editors in chief come from both sides. The most effective editors have had experience in both, and understand all of the steps to creating a newspaper.” Another skill that experts reported as a basic journalism skill was computer trouble-shooting and mastery of computer software. One expert echoed the sentiments of most other panelists, “After all, it’s the editor who will have to fix things when they don’t work.”
Additional journalism skills and competencies frequently cited by editors included sound news judgement, knowledge of ethical standards, and understanding fairness, accuracy, and balance. One editor responded: “Most importantly, an editor or managing editor must be able to make sound news judgments.” Another editor stated:
Any senior editor, especially the editor in chief, should have mastered the art of news writing…the important skills include writing leads and prioritizing facts. Of course, journalism competency includes ethics in reporting, making sure all sides of a story are told, fairness in quoting, etc.
Another panelist stated the following as competencies necessary for an editor in chief: “As far as basic journalism competencies, an incoming editor should have a very good understanding of fairness and accuracy. I think that these are the two main things when dealing with a university and members of your staff. She added that “a good background in writing and editing” are critical.
The list of 12 journalism skills and 12 journalism competencies identified by the experts were returned to the panelists in Round Two. Panelists were asked to rate how
important each skill and competency was to the role using a 4-point Likert Scale ranging from least important to most important. The results are presented in Table 13.
Table 13. Journalism Skills and Competencies Rated by Panel Members The expert panel identified the following as basic “journalism” competencies and skills an incoming editor in chief or managing editor should have. (Table 7, Question 1)
Journalism Skills Mean Std. Dev. Rank
Mastery of basic news story structures 3.83 0.38 1
Grammar skills 3.50 0.59 2
Copy editing skills 3.50 0.59 3
Writing skills 3.42 0.72 4
Reporting skills 3.42 0.58 5
How to write leads 3.29 0.62 6
AP Style 3.29 0.69 7
Design and layout 3.17 0.64 8
Mastery of computer software (QuarkXPress, Photoshop) 3.08 0.88 9
Headline writing 2.96 0.62 10
Computer trouble-shooting skills 2.38 1.01 11
Photography skills 2.13 0.74 12
Journalism Competencies Mean Std. Dev. Rank
Understands journalism standards of fairness, accuracy, and balance 3.92 0.28 1 Knowledge of ethical standards in journalism 3.83 0.49 2 Understands importance of news judgments 3.79 0.41 3
Knowledge of production process 3.63 0.58 4
Understands readership 3.54 0.51 5
Knowledge of media law 3.39 0.66 6
Reporting experience 3.13 0.45 7
One year college newspaper experience 3.08 0.65 8
Journalism background 3.00 0.93 9
Knowledge of photojournalism (graphic and legal points concerning images) 2.75 0.68 10
Basic understanding of advertising 2.46 0.72 11
Newspaper internship 2.33 0.87 12
Panelists’ responses were tabulated and the mean and standard deviation for each item was calculated. Only those responses from panelists with a mean score of 2.96 or higher for journalism skills and 3.0 or higher for journalism competencies were returned for consensus building. A different cutoff point was used for skills and competencies,
however, at least 75 percent of all items were returned to panelists for consensus. The low-rated items were removed from further consideration because the study is interested in the most important characteristics.
The list of 10 journalism skills and 9 journalism competencies, rated as important by the experts, were returned to the panelists in Round Three. Panelists were asked to select the three most important skills and three most important competencies. The results are presented in Table 14.
Table 14. Journalism Skills and Competencies Ranked by Panel Members The expert panel identified the following 10 basic journalism “skills” and 9 basic journalism
“competencies” as important for an incoming editor in chief. (Table 8, Question 1)
Journalism Skills Score Rank
Mastery of basic news story structures 15 1
Reporting skills 14 2
Writing skills 9 3
Copy editing skills 8 4
Design and layout 7 5
AP Style 7 6
Mastery of computer software (QuarkXPress, Photoshop) 4 7
Ability to write leads 2 8
Grammar skills 2 9
Headline writing 1 10
Journalism Competencies Score Rank
Understands journalism standards of fairness, accuracy, and balance 19 1 Knowledge of ethical standards in journalism 15 2
Understands importance of news judgment 13 3
Knowledge of production process 7 4
Understands readership 5 5
Journalism background 4 6
Reporting experience 3 7
Knowledge of media law 3 8
The panelists indicated that when forced to choose three from a list of 10 journalism skills necessary for a top newsroom leader’s success, “mastery of basis news story structures” (15) and “reporting skills”(14) led the list. These skills were ranked higher than “writing” (9) or “copy editing skills” (8). Although these skills, along with six others received a lower ranking, they none-the-less received a high enough rating to be considered among the top 10 skills. The list, which also includes “design and layout” (7), “AP Style” (7), “mastery of computer software” (4), “lead writing” (2), and
“grammar skills” (2) reflects the wide range of journalism skills panelists regard as important to their jobs.
When asked to chose three journalism competencies from a list of nine they considered most important to the role of top newsroom leader, almost 83 percent choose “understands journalism standards of fairness, accuracy” as one of the three most
important. Also ranked high were “knowledge of ethical standards in journalism” with a score of 65 percent, and “understands importance of news judgment” with a score of 57 percent. The high score these top three competencies received reflect the importance these panelists place on the necessity of having high standards for this leadership role.
Identified Leadership Competencies, Skills, and Behaviors
In the initial round, the expert panelists were asked to identify basic leadership competencies, skills, and behaviors critical to the success of the top leadership position. The results were returned to the experts in Rounds Two and Three for consensus
building.