I can’t speak for larger papers, or from years of experience in a newsroom. I can only speak as a set of “fresh eyes” on the dynamics of a newsroom in a medium-sized daily. Because I work in the Online Department of my newspaper, I’m going to focus on digital journalism and share some things I’ve learned.

First, don’t be afraid to try new things. Even if the venture fails, there are lessons to be learned. If someone in the newsroom has an idea that seems even halfway plausible, develop and encourage it because it may just be the next popular thing your newspaper will do. The things that catch on with readers can be hit or miss, but it never hurts to try. My paper put out a twice-daily news report complete with an anchor, script and producer for a little over a year. It did not work out, but we have been able to refine the kinds of videos our readers do want to see, and we now have several staff members trained in video editing/producing.

Second, your job will evolve with or without you. It’s up to you to evolve with it or get left behind. This applies to everyone from reporter to editor to manager and beyond. Yes, you may have a shiny journalism degree, but there will always be more to learn – do you know how to pull video off your cell phone and post it on the web? Have you heard of Twitter? Do you understand how Twitter can be used to enhance a reader’s experience? If you answered, “Yes” to any of those questions, great! If not, then you need to get on the ball and evolve. (For a good idea of what journalists should be learning these days, Read Mindy McAdams’ Reporters Guide to Multimedia Proficiency on her blog.)

Third, don’t shy away from interacting with your readers – beyond the letters to the editor. Use your forums if you have them. Read and respond to comments they leave in stories. Get on Twitter and ‘tweet your beat’ by letting your followers see what stories you’re working on for them. Or use a Cover it Live liveblog to cover big, ongoing, or breaking stories, debates, or sporting events. This will give your readers another avenue to your content, drive traffic to your website and could generate revenue by selling sponsorship of the coverage.

At the end of the day, you will be ahead of the game if you can use a variety of tools out there (many of them free) that allow you to engage with your readers. Interaction is a huge key in developing the all-important trust factor that gets them to come to you for news and information and not your competitor.

Useful Links:

• http://www.twitter.com – Twitter – Free
• http://www.coveritlive.com – Cover it Live, Liveblogging tool – Free

Examples:

• The Independent on Twitter
• The Independent liveblog on a breaking story
• Steph on Twitter