Edward D. Miller is a newsroom leadership coach and management consultant to newspapers around the world. He is a former director of ASNE and a founder of the Society for News Design. Reach him at miller@newroomleadership.com

NEWS CAN BE A SURPRISE; demographic trends should never be. Here are some thoughts about a generation that will change our newsrooms in the years ahead.

The baby boomer generation (those born from 1943 to 1960) dominates upper management at most newspapers. The oldest boomers are reaching retirement age; the youngest will still be in place a decade from now. Next in line is Generation X (1961-1981), the generation some call the most entrepreneurial in history. This generation is driving the transition to the digital age.

Just coming into the work force is Generation Y (1982-2005), known as the millennials. At 80 million strong, there are more millennials than boomers, and they will have a similar impact on our culture.

Bruce Tulgan, founder of the consulting firm RainmakerThinking, described this generation in a recent Fortune magazine:

"This is the most high-maintenance work force in the history of the world. The good news is they're also going to be the most high-performing work force in the history of the world. They walk in with more information in their heads, more information at their fingertips - and sure, they have high expectations, but they have the highest expectations first and foremost for themselves."

What's important for today's editors to consider is that the millennials will shape newsroom management long before they themselves become top managers. Here's Tulgan and Carolyn Martin from their book "Managing the Generational Mix":

"Y'ers are independent, entrepreneurial thinkers who relish responsibility, demand immediate feedback, and expect a sense of accomplishment hourly. They thrive on challenging work and creative expression and love freedom and flexibility. They're more than willing to tell you how to fix your team, department and organization even before they're gone through your orientation program. And they'll do that with attitude."

The next 10 years will be critical as newspapers learn to invent new futures. Here are some ideas about managing the millennials who will help do that.

Help them develop
Millennials want to learn and they're willing to put in the effort, but they respond better to coaches than commanders. Smart managers will make sure their teaching styles are collaborative and inclusive, not top-down instructive. To the millennials, learning has specific objectives - personal growth and career development. The coaching, therefore, should accommodate what the millennials think they need, not just what we think they should learn.

Treat them as colleagues
Traditionally newsroom rookies, like children of old, were meant to be seen, not heard. This won't work with millennials. They want to be, in their words, "value adders" from the beginning. They react negatively to condescending managers who seem unapproachable or impatient. They have a technical savvy that dazzles those of us who still need our teenagers to program the VCR. From Day One they want to be colleagues, not subordinates. They have high expectations, and will demand an environment that lets them learn and succeed.

Teach self-management skills
Start with time and goals management. Millennials need practice in getting organized. Teach them project management, especially the value of incremental deadlines. When the time comes to move them into the ranks of management, be sure they are trained for the transition. If you just throw them in the pond expecting them to learn how to swim, they will indeed learn, but they'll swim away as fast as they can.

Millennials are less likely than previous generations to be loyal to one company for very long, but will stay and work hard if they believe their own personal ambitions are being taken seriously. *