2010 Making Media Connections Conference

Before leaving the newsroom in the early ‘90s, I would frequently hear colleagues say, “I don’t know what else I would do if I weren’t a journalist.  I can’t imagine doing anything else.”  It appeared their worlds would disintegrate into dust if they did not report the news.

Since I was a kid growing up on the South Side of Chicago, I dreamt of becoming a journalist, went on to prestigious reporting internships at the Chicago Tribune and Washington Post and graduated from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Over the next decade, I worked as a general assignment reporter at major newspapers, magazines and CBS-TV affiliates around the country.

My identity was wrapped up in my by-line. When I decided to step away from daily reporting to explore other fields including nonprofit, it was life-altering. I felt like I was pulling off a second skin. I lived to be the voice of unsung heroes and lift up causes of the underserved, inspired as a child from reading books including Manchild in the Promise Land and I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.  Few professions gave you permission and support of your editor to expose wrongdoing and elevate causes through your reporting. It was an awesome responsibility that was tremendously gratifying to me.

Leaving the newsroom was also a traumatic shift for Hanke Gratteau, vice president of public affairs for Ounce of Prevention Fund, a nonprofit promoting healthy development of young children from low-income families and early-childhood programs. Previously, Gratteau was a Chicago Tribune managing editor for news.  She agreed to a voluntary buyout in 2008. Her exemplary career included directing the reporting efforts for “Gateway to Gridlock,” an examination of national air traffic congestion that won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism.
“It was sort of shocking to my system, [to leave the newsroom],” she said.  “It ended before I was ready for it to end.” Gratteau sought the help of a job coach to figure out her next move. “She helped me to work through what was it about being a journalist that got me out of bed.  It came down to advocacy.

“The stories that changed someone’s life for the better and social mission is what many journalists have passion for,” she continued. “From there, it was an easy roadmap looking at nonprofit advocacy.  I found a cause that I was passionate about then looked for the nonprofit to match.”

Once I realized that my world would continue to have purpose after the newsroom, I saw countless opportunities for how my newsroom background would serve other professions. I knew how to think of my feet, work efficiently and quickly, write snappy prose under tight deadlines, find relevant points for a story in a dense press release, clarify messages in an instant and read people in seconds.  I also knew how to frame a story and the strategic thinking that went on in a newsroom.

All that training didn’t go to waste. I found myself unexpectedly attractive to corporate media relations departments. I was recruited to work at Ameritech, where my television background positioned me to become an on-camera company spokesperson on several critical company issues. It wasn’t until I was working on the other side as a manager of media relations then public relations that I saw first-hand the acrobatic-like level of angst, discussion, messaging and calculations that went on behind the scenes amongst company executives preparing for a reporter’s interview. I couldn’t help but ask myself: “Was all this fuss going on over me?” I underestimated the influence I wielded as a reporter in the eyes of others.

I later moved into nonprofit communications at the Museum of Science Industry. The environment was much less stressful and more in line with my values than corporate but kept a demanding pace just the same.  Still a journalist at heart, I could easily relate to reporter requests while being mindful of the organization’s image and reputation.
My newsroom experience also prepared me to teach news reporting at Northwestern University, serve as a political campaign spokesperson, an independent contractor for several nonprofits, a director of nonprofit communications and development, a public school administrator, a magazine writer and now as a consultant to Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and president of English Communications, Inc. an entrepreneurial venture marrying journalism and marketing communications to promote advocacy of social and economic causes. http://www.englishmediaworldwide.com.

In today’s difficult economy, where we are seeing the media industry shrink before our eyes, analysts are comparing journalists to autoworkers who found their skills no longer required in a downsized industry.  I maintain that the skills of a journalist are in more demand than ever – on the other side of the desk. “We are able to produce quickly on time and on budget, Gratteau said. “We learn complex things quickly. We move quickly. My advice to journalists looking for their next career is to sit down and do an assessment of their skills. You have to repackage them and position them to an executive who will likely say ‘I need that journalist on my staff.’ ”

Hear more insights from our esteemed panel of former journalists working in nonprofits during the Making Media Connections Conference, Thursday, June 10, 2010, moderated by Tracey.  Other panelists including Hanke are:
•    Christopher Boyce is on the communications and development staff at the Donors Forum of Chicago. He spent five years as a professional journalist in newspapers. Most recently, he penned several freelance feature stories for Red Eye in Chicago.

•     Johnathan Briggs is vice president of communications at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), one of the nation’s leading AIDS organizations. Prior to joining AFC, Briggs was an urban affairs reporter at the Chicago Tribune, where he wrote primarily about gentrification, minority communities, HIV/AIDS and youth culture.
•    Fuzz Hogan is director of communications for Advance Illinois, the only statewide independent education advocacy organization in Illinois focused exclusively on improving academic achievement through public policy advancements.

Moderator: Tracey Robinson-English  can be reached at 773-636-4566 and Tenglishcom@gmail.com.

Register now for Thursday’s Panel Sessions