January 16, 2006
- Special Edition – Resolutions -- #2
- SPECIAL EDITION NOTE – RESOLUTIONS: As I read the various resolutions, my reactions ran the gamut from, ‘yeah, me too’ to ‘damn, that’s interesting.’ The call for predictions and resolutions produced so much good material that I decided to do a two-part edition of MfM. This part obviously enough deals with the resolutions which, as I noted, could be either personal or professional. What was particularly noteworthy were the number of people who had made a personal resolution which had professional ramifications.
- TRAIN, NOT TRY: “In all the areas where I want to improve, I am going to change my mindset that I am in training for the next great goal, not just trying.” Tracey Rogers (ND/ WAFF/ Huntsville)
- LISTEN: If there was one word used more than any other in all these resolutions, it was the word – Listen. Doug DeYoung (ND/ WPBN/ Traverse City) says he has made it a goal to meet one-on-one with every team member to discuss their personal goals because “this will make me a better team leader and make our team produce better results.” Lee Meredith (GM/ WAFF/ Huntsville) echoed those sentiments with a simple: “R – be a better listener.” As did Richard Riley (University of Georgia) who vowed to listen more and “reconsider change a positive.”
- THROUGH THE EYES: “I resolve to evaluate my talents and abilities through the eyes of people I respect and then take the necessary actions to make the utmost use of what I find.” Maria Placer (Station Manager/ KLFY/ Lafayette, LA) The other great theme was the need to work with the staff, to help them be better. As Jonathon Mitchell (ND/ WNWO/ Toledo) put it, “coaching can get lost in the shuffle.” Barbara Maushard (ND/ WISN/ Milwaukee) says she plans to spend more time helping her staff become better storytellers to “make the important news they are delivering mean more to the viewers.” It is a sentiment very closely echoed in the words of Mike Smith (VP-News/ WCTV/ Tallahassee) who makes the point, “a well written story is still the best part of any newscast.” Or As Michael Sullivan (ND/ WJCL/ Savannah) put it, “connect to the viewers.”In a somewhat similar vein about team work, Raeford Brown (ND/ WECT/ Wilmington) says he has made it his goal to “maintain harmony while holding onto the tail to keep it from wagging the dog.” Bob Smith (ND/ KWWL/ Waterloo) says the challenge is “staying motivated and keeping my fellow employees motivated.” Mark Rosen (ND/ WJBF/ Augusta) talks about “streamlining our machine” by developing newsroom systems for virtually everything. Meg Sauer (ND/ WSBT/ South Bend) and Rick Erbach (ND/ WGCL/ Atlanta) used different words but hit a similar theme. For Meg, her resolution is “to be more decisive” while Rick says he has adopted the phrase, “do it now.”
- SUNSETS AND CELLPHONES: “I resolve to watch more sunsets… without my cellphone.” Estelle Parsley (ND/ WRDW/ Augusta)RESOLUTIONS – BALANCING ACT. While Estelle is trying to get away from her cell phone, Meg Sauer has resolved to spend less time with e-mail. It’s indicative of the ‘other’ interesting theme to come out of all these resolutions -- the need for balance – not just between their personal lives and professional lives but between their personal needs and the personal needs of others. As Rick Moll (ND/ WTVM/ Columbus) semi-facetiously put it: “My resolution is to reduce my stress level and make more time for me. My prediction is it won’t happen.” Interestingly, Lee Brantley (GM/ WTVM/ Columbus) phrased it in a similarly self-facetious way, saying he’s determined “to enjoy my work more and not let the bastards get me down.” Coincidentally, two people not only made the same point but used almost the same language. Dianne Streyer (VP & General Manager/ VDO/ Clearwater) says she has resolved “to build in creative time – ALWAYS.” Similarly, Kate Freeman (Marketing Manager/ WTOC/ Savannah) says she is determined to “make my ‘spare’ time more creatively rewarding.”
- RESOLUTIONS: Not all resolutions were work oriented. There were many of the more traditional resolutions, the ones that I would read and say, ‘yep, me too.’ As in when Andree Boyd (Marketing Manager/ WAFB/ Baton Rouge) vowed to be debt free by the end of the year or Carlos Reina (MM/ KVUE/ Austin) talks about getting the wherewithal to buy a home. Even when the resolution was not work oriented, there were similarities between the personal and professional, such as when Janet Patterson (Researcher/ Bell South/ Atlanta) talked about cleaning and organizing her house “finally” while Deborah Potter (Executive Director, Newslab) wants to get her VHS tapes digitized and organized “once and for all.”
- ONLY ONE BODY: “I resolve to finally accept the fact that God gives you only one body and do my best to thank Him by not wishing it was better, but by doing something to make it better.” Maria Placer (Station Manager/ KLFY/ Lafayette, LA)Health was a big issue for many. Dianne Streyer vows to work out three times a week. Kathy Stone (EP/ WLEX/ Lexington) notes that part of the challenge in trying to get healthy is spending “so much time in a chair with wheels.” And don’t think only the female members are talking health. Bob Smith put getting healthy at the top of his list… just ahead of stopping swearing while Craig Harney (Operations Manager/ WTOC/ Savannah) jokingly referred to trying to rescue his ‘girlish figure’ from ‘too many drumsticks.’
- STAYING IN TOUCH: “My New Year’s Resolution is to do a better job of staying in touch with all of the friends I’ve been lucky to make in my 24 years in TV.” Russ Mitchell (Anchor/ CBS/ New York)
- FINAL - ANONYMOUS RESOLUTION: It comes from a General Manager who put his resolution bluntly: “To Fix or Replace Weak Links in the Team Chain.” Now, you know why it’s anonymous. However, I would note that the first word, fix, is the key word. The second word, ‘replace,’ is reality. It’s a way to end, but with a footnote by me – none of the people who responded to the MfM need to be fixed or replaced. They already get it. They’re the leaders.
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