JULY 26, 2001

An Editor's Legacy:
Insights from Matthew Storin

By Gregory Favre
Poynter Leadership Faculty

A paragraph deep in The New York Times story on the change of editors at The Boston Globe caught my eye. It was a quote from the retiring editor Matthew Storin.

When asked what he considered his finest accomplishment during his years at the Globe, Storin didn’t talk about the several Pulitzers the paper had won under his leadership. Or the hundreds of other awards it collected. He didn’t cite the investigative and enterprise pieces which the Globe does so well.

His answer may have surprised some, but it was what I hope most editors would want as their legacy. Storin told the Times that he was most proud of the many talented young journalists he had hired and what they have brought to the newspaper.

A few days later, he took time to answer some questions on the subject.

Favre: Why do you feel that the hiring and retention of bright and talented young journalists means more than all of the other things you have accomplished through the years?

Storin: Because a newspaper is ultimately the people who produce it, and all good work flows back to the talent of those who undertook it. The good folks we hired will be here long after I have left, so it is a long lasting accomplishment as well.

Favre: What did you look for when you hired?

Storin: Of course you have some kind of threshold for experience and education, but I always said, first and foremost, there is no substitute for brains. So I wanted smart people. After that, in no particular order: at least a touch of writing talent on which to build (because I think that’s tougher to teach than reporting); curiosity, and energy, drive, and ambition. I also evaluated the personality. Does this person listen? Would someone tell this person his or her life story?

Favre: What kind of networking did you do?

Storin: I personally probably did not do enough, because we were always blessed with great applicants, but we encouraged our recruiters to be as aggressive and wide ranging as they could be.

Favre: What advice do you have for young journalists seeking jobs, especially in these tough times?

Storin: Starting out, don’t worry about where you are (within reason), so long as you are getting clips and learning something , but worry about staying too long. So you work at a rural weekly? Consider it like grad school, only at least they pay you instead of the other way around.

Favre: Did the Globe have any specific training or mentoring programs for new people on the staff?

Storin: We did not have a training requirement, but we were generous in sending folks to Poynter and API or other learning experiences. I personally tried to take an interest in every new staffer, particularly the writers, as did Louisa Williams, managing editor for administration, and Ann Scales, assistant to the editor. This was especially true for minority hires. But we did not have a formal mentoring program, although we do pair up our summer interns with veteran staff members.

Favre: Through the years you have seen generations of journalists come and go. How do the young ones of today stack up with those of other generations?

Storin: Where they are less accomplished is in life experiences. They tend to be more elite. They haven’t spent as much time in blue collar summer jobs, or in fact in poverty with all of the struggles that implies. Now obviously you can find such people, but with the decline of basic reading and writing skills as taught in many of our public schools, these less privileged youngsters often do not have the minimal skills or interests that are needed for later pursuit of a journalism career. So economic diversity is a problem. Overall, there is not a shortage of candidates at the highest level, but the rest of the crop is not as impressive.

What do you think?

Coming Monday: Leadership Insights from Lillian Dunlap