New year, new job, new models

New year, new job, new models
Photo by Sapan Patel / Unsplash

It will hit the social networks I'm no longer on sometime later today that I've gotten a new job. I'm headed to Temple University to be the James B. Steele Chair in Journalism Innovation. I'll begin in the fall, and will leave Outlier at the end of May, though I'll stay on the board.

I've never been conflicted about limiting my time at Outlier's helm. I believe in stewardship over leadership, fundamentally.

Moving away from Detroit was another story, and I resisted. I've raised my family in this city. We're rooted and happy in our home and our neighborhood. My parents live less than 5 miles away, and I love being so close. I work in one of the best newsrooms in the country, with some of the smartest and most capable people I've ever worked with, and it's all right here.

But we are on the cusp of unprecedented challenges for modern news and information. I can be of more service to more local newsrooms if I'm outside the day-to-day work, and Temple was eager to give me that opportunity. I finally admitted to myself that I'm hungry to try. As a bonus, I'll also interact more regularly with students. As another bonus, I'll be pushing the boundaries from a public university. Innovation is simply more possible in places that are more open and accessible.

My research and action agenda isn't yet set. It will, however, balance two needs. Need one: local news organizations in Philadelphia and around the country will be reacting to political and economic conditions for the next several years that put them at risk of not being able to equip their communities or help reduce harm within them. Like everyone else working adjacent to these newsrooms, I will have to find ways to be of true service to the reporters, editors, and community members working to meet these challenges day-to-day. Thoughts and monthly donations will not be enough.

Need two: Resist the temptation to only react to timely threats. So many of our news organizations are built on longstanding but weak assumptions and models. It's been true for decades, if not longer. These urgently need to be replaced with practices and principles more likely to be of actual use to communities.

What is the assumption in news you have questions about? An unspoken rule you think it would do some good to see interrogated? I really want to know, and to talk about it.

Happy new year. I hope there are upcoming challenges and opportunities you are hungry for in your future. Take care until next week and if you have a chance, send a happy birthday wish to Candice Fortman, who deserves them all.