Barb Button Shepherd, 63
Publisher, West Volusia Beacon Deland, Fla. First journalism job: Covering community news (it was called women’s news back then) for the Deland Sun News in 1980
What are some of the most important lessons you have learned while working in the news industry?
Always make the hard phone call.
Years ago, we had to report on the death of a young girl who was hit by a car while skateboarding. I couldn’t make myself call her parents. After the story ran, they called me to tell me how upset they were that I had written a story about their daughter without talking to them. It was one of the hardest, and most important, phone calls I’ve ever had to take.
There aren’t “two sides” to every story. There are probably more like seven.
And, because we will see only two, or three, and report and write from that perspective, true objectivity is suspect. We may still strive to be objective, but it may be more important to strive to be fair and open-minded, and energetic enough to seek out and listen to perspectives unlike our own.
If you’re looking at your notebook for anything other than to check a number or a name-spelling, your story is probably getting longer (and more boring) than it needs to be.
Communities really do grow stronger when the people who live in them have a common source, like a newspaper, for shared information.
What are your predictions for where journalism is heading?
Less paper; more bytes. That much is obvious; we have to go where the readers are. Among the many lessons of the coronavirus pandemic, I’ve been reminded of how beautifully adaptable and resilient newspaper people are. Over time, I think, we will work out how to properly and profitably monetize digital reporting, as well as how to make people understand why our story is still important even though the neighbor posted about the breaking news five hours ago. I think print editions will survive, especially in the community-newspaper realm, because people—even young people—love them, and print advertising works. I look forward to continued progress in the aesthetics of print; people want an inspiring visual experience. I think analysis and opinion will grow in importance, because people are being bombarded with reporting, and they need a friend to help them understand without making them feel stupid.
Newspapers need revenue to hire quality journalists and I’m proud to be charged by the National Newspaper Association with creating a “creative resources” program where the best newspapers across the country share innovative ideas to boost revenue.
What are your predictions for where journalism is heading?
Those of us who remember the days of Watergate and the work by newspaper journalists can also recall the changes that came about in government and society in general because of the extraordinary work led by Bob Woodward, Carl Bernstein and others. I predict another government calamity of Watergate scope is inevitable and its exposure and ultimate handling will not only prove that American democracy is alive and well, it will also remind Americans of the significance of our free press and the journalists who devote their lives to work that is woefully under-appreciated. While national journalists will continue to battle for time, air and print exposure, community journalists will experience a renaissance due to their focus on the people, places and issues that matter most to everyone: home. Social media will not go away but will become recognized for what it largely has become, the online version of the National Enquirer. Entertaining, perhaps, but not necessarily reliable. People whose lives have been affected positively by the results of quality journalism will ultimately prevail. We may have more and better resources than ever in our lives, but no one does real journalism better than community newspapers.