Appendix: Is this the Right Time?

  

Deciding to find and tap into your community’s civic life can seem like good common sense, but not every newspaper should try it. To do it right takes time, energy and possibly some financial resources. It is an investment, and as with all investments, the timing must be right.

While finding and tapping civic conversations can yield many important benefits, moving ahead when the time is not right can do more damage to your news organization than doing nothing at all. Virtually every journalist has had the experience of seeing a newsroom 

 jump into some new venture, only to frustrate editors and reporters because there was a lack of organizational commitment or a lack of time to do the job right.

On the next page is a worksheet to help newsroom leaders consider whether or not to move ahead. Five key areas are outlined. 

Make sure to look through Part I (page 9) before starting the assessment worksheet.

Its worth taking the time up front to complete the worksheet, and once you do, review your answers carefully. Then make this judgment: 

Moving Ahead

“WHO SHOULD DO THIS ASSESSMENT AND HOW”

Editors or newsroom leaders should take the lead in completing this assessment. On some questions, the lead person may want to get input from the newsroom. No doubt, at times editors and reporters (and others in the newsroom) will see things from different perspectives.

READ THE NEXT SECTION OF THE WORKBOOK — THE ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS