Here’s what Dallas News Guild workers are looking for in our next editor-in-chief

Ahead of publisher’s town hall, we tell the company what we want. Not that they asked.

Dallas Morning News Publisher Grant Moise emailed the newsroom in February with an update on the search for the next editor-in-chief. He said he’s been gathering “internal and external feedback to determine what we need” for the past couple of months. But he never reached out to the Dallas News Guild to hear what members have to say about our next leader.

So even as the company began its search for a new EIC, we wanted to know what the workers of the newsroom, those who would follow this new leader every day, really wanted. We asked: What do employees of The Dallas Morning News and Al Día Dallas want to see in a top editor?

Our members are looking for someone who represents the communities we cover. We want someone who fosters career growth and champions ambitious projects. And, we hope our next boss views the Dallas News Guild as a collaborative partner in the work of telling powerful stories #ByDallasForDallas.

We want the person at the helm to put diversity and inclusion at the center of every decision — and be able to back up his or her beliefs with a strong track record. We urge management to consider joining a small but growing segment of companies that ties executive incentives to meeting diversity goals.

Our members voted to unionize because we want to ensure that local journalism thrives in North Texas. We hope the next editor-in-chief shares our vision. 

A.H. Belo, (soon to be called DallasNews Corp.) here’s what our members are looking for:

A believer in training opportunities to help workers grow in their roles and remain in this newsroom. 

An innovator who will help support new opportunities for upward professional mobility. 

A leader who will listen to feedback from employees regarding effective and ineffective leadership and management in the newsroom, and will act accordingly to make necessary changes. The new EIC should come with a clear vision and work with staff to execute it. 

A veteran journalist with a long track record of demonstrating sound news judgment. The EIC should commit to creating beats to cover basic human needs, such as public health, housing, and transportation. 

An advocate for strong, visual journalism who will support photojournalism project work and the revival and expansion of our video journalism department.

An editor with experience running a Spanish-language paper along with its metro daily. The next editor should commit to increasing funding and staffing at Al Día and seek more opportunities for synergy in storytelling that combines our coverage.

A leader who will focus less on metrics and more on substantial, beat-driven, public service journalism.

A person committed to holding the newsroom accountable when it falls short of its standards. 

An editor who is aggressively focused on accountability journalism in all corners of the newsroom.

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We believe a strong relationship between the newsroom workers and the editor-in-chief is imperative to The Dallas Morning News’ and Al Día Dallas’ future success. That relationship can start now if workers’ voices are heard in the hiring process. 

The Dallas Morning News is part of the oldest continuously operated business in Texas and the state’s leading newspaper. Proudly, we are the first major newspaper newsroom in the state to unionize in the modern era.

The Dallas News Guild covers more than 130 journalists across all departments of the newsroom, including reporters, columnists, data journalists, copy editors, librarians, web producers, audio producers, page designers, photographers and videographers. Eligible newsroom workers voted in October by a margin of over 75% to form a union.

Keep up with our bargaining efforts on Instagram and Twitter — @DallasNewsGuild — and at the NEWS tab at DallasNewsGuild.org.

#ByDallasForDallas