By LEE NESSEL
Sports Editor
Florida Today

Story posted on Aug. 14, 2009

Lee Nessel

I've always been a proponent of the mantra: "Change is good."

But as the saying goes, you also have to be mindful of what you wish for.

Sports editor now also means TV show producer? Yes, that is now part of my job description. I never would have imagined such a combination back in journalism school when print was print and that's all she wrote.

We journalists are fortunate in that our jobs provide variety. Sure the same sports events happen year after year, but the players and outcomes vary along with the personalities and issues.

But beyond that natural variance, this year has brought an overload of change to our industry. We editors have had to not only navigate it, but stay strong captains for our staffers.

One of the main changes for the newsroom at Florida Today was the launching of a Monday-Friday daily TV show. Sports airs weekly on Fridays. It was a revenue-generating venture with our local community college-run cable station – where the programming airs – but it came in the middle of furloughs, layoffs and other cuts.

I lost my assistant sports editor to another position in the newsroom. First thought? I have to do more with less? Yes, we all do now, and we rise to the occasion.

Planning shows, scheduling TV segment shoots, scripting, hosting and working with the video editors is all new. There was no time to learn "how to be a TV show host." But conceptualizing and producing a sophisticated and interesting show is only part of the print sports editor job description now.

And back when the whole TV thing was still just conversation, I made sure to get in on the planning. Even if I didn't have four years of experience as a multimedia producer and video editor before moving to sports, I would have weighed in. I made sure to suggest where I thought we should build a studio, and I have been vocal on suggesting protocols and improvements ever since.

Ok, so we have more to do with less, but I want it to still to come off with the highest quality. That is not easy.

Many in the industry can relate to the toughest changes my department faced: layoffs and furloughs. As editor, I haven't necessarily found it a challenge to keep morale up (most will tell you they are just happy to still have their jobs), but optimism is infectious just as is negativity. We can choose which to spread around to our coworkers.

Other change came in the separation of the copy editors onto a universal desk. The same people who worked solely on the sports section for years still handle sports pages, and I believe the strong relationships built between them and myself and the writers helps bridge a gap that otherwise might exist.

It's all enough to make your head want to explode, but the true satisfaction comes in finding a way to balance the plates that keep piling up. This, too, shall pass. But until then, the only way to survive change to plow into it head first and show staffers that a positive attitude and some organization will take them a long way. Maybe even to hosting their own TV show.

■ 1. Stay positive. Attitude is infectious. You might as well spread cheer rather than a cancerous heap of negativity.

■ 2. Be organized. Learn what works for you. For me, it's file folders and index cards with electronic calendar reminders. I get email overload and find printing things out for filing is somewhat old fashioned, but effective. Print, TV, online, content sharing ... have to keep it straight somehow.

■ 3. Diversify your skills. Change won't stop any time soon. Some of you may never have to host a TV show, but you never know. We're all being asked to do more.

■ 4. Maintain relationships. You no longer may work alongside someone who was moved form your department, but you never know how staff changes pan out in the future and how that person might help you.

■ 5. Speak up. Change is affecting newsroom in massive ways. Voice your thoughts, even if you feel strongly about something that has nothing to do with your sports department. Diverse input is vital ahead of major changes.

■ 6. Ask for input. I've talked to some peers and have fielded calls as we pick each others' brains. I continue to crave more interaction, in fact, with fellow editors. I'd be scared if I didn't.

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