Course Overview
- Title:
- Frontline Editors Introduction: Understanding Leadership Styles
- Type:
- Self-Directed Course
- Cost:
- Free
- Time Estimate:
- One hour
About Self-Directed Courses
In a self-directed course, you can start and stop whenever you like, progressing entirely at your own pace and going back as many times as you want to review the material.
The job of a frontline editor is demanding, complex and under-appreciated.
As the editor who has a direct hand in shaping news content and guiding newsgatherers, this person is often brought up from the reporting or copy-editing ranks and put in the job without any training.
There are more than 20 behavioral characteristics -- in addition to journalistic skills -- that a frontline editor needs to succeed. This course describes the behavior and working styles needed to be effective.
In this course, you'll role-play through situations, choosing what you would do as editor in each scenario. The scenarios can help you imagine the job if you don't yet have it or help you better understand key behavioral traits if you do. It will help you see the areas in which you are weak.
When you're done, you'll get an introduction to resources and training for the job.
What Will I Learn:
Upon completing this course, you will be able to:
- Identify the 22 characteristics necessary for a frontline editor.
- Understand how your skills fit with the job description.
- Create a list of training opportunities for continued improvement.
Who should take this course:
This course is for anyone who has -- or wants -- the role of shaping the news and the newsgatherers. It is also helpful for independent journalists and bloggers who want to be more effective.
Course Instructors:
Michele McLellan
Michele McLellan is a consultant who helps news organizations and journalism training organizations adapt in a rapidly changing new media environment.
Jacqui Banaszynski
Jacqui Banaszynski is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who spent 30 years as a newspaper reporter and editor. She holds a Knight Chair professorship at the Missouri School of Journalism, is an editing fellow at the Poynter Institute and coaches student and professional journalists around the world. You can follow her on Twitter at @JacquiB.
Technical Requirements:
For this course you will need to have at least version 8.0 of the Flash plugin installed. For the best experience, we suggest that:
- PC users use Internet Explorer or Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox
- Mac users use Netscape/Mozilla/Firefox or Safari
- you set your monitor resolution to 1024 x 768 or higher
- you use a high-speed connection