Gilbert Bailon, 2007-08 ASNE president, is publisher and editor of the Spanish-language daily newspaper, Al Día in Dallas.

Reality now permeates the ASNE membership. And we are better for it.

As I attended ASNE’s annual convention in March, followed by our “Leading in a Transforming World” seminar at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in April, it became evident that our editors are embracing fundamental change caused by significant challenges.

Our membership is energized by new ways to communicate with more people in different forums and delivery systems available 24 hours a day. Pulp and core publications still dominate our mission, but alternatives abound with possibilities.

I heard anecdotes from many members about the action-oriented and more upbeat tenor from the annual convention. A drumbeat of woe was replaced by what we can do to lead to success and grow.

The Poynter meeting was an intimate setting of about 20 people, which begot an emotional spectrum from enlightenment and mental expansion to cathartic dialogue more akin to a support group whose members are struggling to cope with their transforming lives.

The Poynter seminar laid bare challenges such as reaching audiences across platforms; the ethics and editing of reader-generated content; demographic changes that are reshaping our nation’s cities; and new models for business innovation.

But it wasn’t two days of group hugs and happy talk. The give-and-take was hearty. Oxen were gored and personal anxieties emerged.

Yet editors left emboldened that they had made the mental leap to become inspirational leaders who will guide their staffs through the white waters.

At least two editors had to cancel because their parent company was sold and they had to devise plans to cut costs and people. Reality prevailed, although many left buoyed and encouraged.

Larry Olmstead, formerly of Knight Ridder newspapers and now consulting with Leading Edge Associates, led a session called “From Anxiety to Opportunity: New Styles for Newsroom Leaders.” He touched on many salient themes, but one resounded with me, and should be heeded as ASNE moves forward as an association.

Change creates disorientation. Managing across online and new targeted products presses us beyond the core skills that propelled us into high management. It’s new and can be scary.

We are used to being in charge and making decisions based on what we have learned over decades. But now these challenges are fresh and emerging from new places, such as working with Yahoo! and Google or trying to effectively steer publications geared to 18- to 34-year-olds or people who speak a foreign language.

We’re accountable but sometimes not knowledgeable. That is a blow to our egos when we are tasked with leading these initiatives. The vernacular and rules of engagement are uncharted. We once prided ourselves in knowing and mastering many other skills firsthand.

Now we work in cross-departmental teams and perform far more than just a journalistic mission. Autocrats cannot succeed in a world operating with extensive collaboration and in which the 20-somethings are far more advanced in some ways.
So let’s concede what we don’t know, liberate ourselves and come to terms with that cleansing.

Let’s find the collaborators who will help us succeed inside and outside of the business. They won’t always look or talk like us when we were wet behind the ears. Break some molds.

Rob Apatoff, president and chief executive officer of Rand McNally, engaged the Poynter group in a powerful discussion of how his company, rooted in printed maps sold in stores, grew that core business, along with specialized publications, while downsizing and migrating to online, and while preserving the core consumers.

Under Apatoff’s tutelage, Rand McNally cut costs and grew, incorporating innovative strategies and penetrating new markets for travelers by pursuing subcategories such as NASCAR fans.

Apatoff defined his role as “chief value creator.” He talked of how leaders define tone by their actions, words and presence, including optimism and a sense of mission.
Transference to the media industry has many corollaries.

Now that we have reconciled our changing environs, it is we editors who must create more value for the precious ore known as journalism. *