Memo to News Directors: How to beat the competition with atmosphere

Every time I hear about a quality station switching to the one-man-band philosophy I check the website. Usually there are a bunch of veteran reporters who have been there awhile.

Trust me, many of them won't be there much longer.

If you want to insure that you'll lose quality veterans on your reporting staff, just hand them a camera.

That's sort of illustrated by the poll on the right side of the page.

But keeping your good people takes more than just shunning the one-man-band fiasco. It's about treating people well. Making them feel appreciated, challenged and happy. Not using fear and intimidation to motivate. Not treating people like ingrates who, God forbid, actually want to better themselves.

One of the most common questions I get from people working in bad shops is, "Is it this bad everywhere?"

Nope. While there are certainly horror stories out there, and I've lived through many of them, there are places that make you keep the resume tape in the drawer.

Show me a number one station, and I'll show you a staff that doesn't have a ton of turnover. She me a staff that doesn't turn over, and I'll usually show you a staff that is happy. (Either that, or they're so lacking in talent they can't go anywhere else.)

If you're a manager saddled with budget cuts and Draconian rules from corporate, the buck stops with you. You don't have to let the snowball that's rolling downhill continue to roll into the newsroom.

Let the other guys pass on the misery. If you don't, you can basically win by attrition. Let the other guys chase their good people out of the market or out of the business. Make your newsroom a fun and happy place, and employees will cut you a lot more slack when the beancounters impose their rules.

It's really the same as a political race in which you have three candidates. The smart candidate lets the other two kill each other, the flies under the radar into the victory column.

When so many good people are being chased out of the business due to budgetary concerns, doesn't it make sense to give them a perk that costs the company absolutely nothing?

A pleasant atmosphere in which to work.