Want to be a leader in the newsroom? Already working on climbing the ladder to the top? At the top and want some advice on how to keep your middle managers motivated? When you do your time in middle management it often means answering to those above you and sometimes making hard decisions about those below you. Being in a management sandwich comes with its own set of challenges, but there are some real opportunities too. Hear from some those who have not just survived, but thrived in this position.
Panelists: Arlyn Gajilan, Michelle Garcia, Shana Naomi Krochmal, Maria Mercader, Rich Tarpening
ARLYN GAJILAN is the deputy managing editor for operations at Reuters. Previously, Gajilan was deputy editor for professional news in New York where she helped steer the legal news team and oversee the delivery of Reuters content to Westlaw and the former Intellectual Property & Science division. She’s been a senior editor at Newsweek, Forbes.com, Conde Nast Portfolio, Time and Fortune.
MICHELLE GARCIA is the senior editor for race and identities at Vox.com, focusing on race, gender, sexuality and religion. Garcia’s work has been honored by the Western Publishers Association, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association, and the New York Press Association. Previously, Garcia was an editor at Mic.com and The Advocate magazine. She lives with her family in Brooklyn.
SHANA NAOMI KROCHMAL is a writer, producer and shameless enthusiast who is the digital director for Entertainment Weekly. She was previously the editor-in-chief for Entertainment Tonight online and is a longtime contributing editor and former staffer at OUT magazine. She has also worked at Al Jazeera America, Current TV, and POZ magazine. Her commentary has been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” “The Young Turks” and many other entertainment and news outlets. As a press secretary and communications strategist, she worked at and advised advocacy and community organizations including GLAAD and San Francisco’s STOP AIDS Project. She and her wife and their dog live in Los Angeles.
MARIA MERCADER, currently the director of talent strategy, has been with CBS News for over 25 years. Prior to this position she worked as a producer at CBS News Foreign Desk. Mercader is proud that she has grown up at CBS as she started in the company as a page. Through the years, she has also has worked at Newspath, the National Desk and “Sunday Morning.” In 2004, she won a Business Emmy with David Pogue and Doug Smith for the “CBS News Sunday Morning” piece on computer spam.
RICH TARPENING began his news career in 1984, where he was a radio/TV broadcaster in the USAF. He was stationed overseas for 4 years before deciding to move back to California to find a job in the commercial world of TV broadcasting. He landed his first job at KMIR-TV in 1990 and began as a master control operator before transitioning into the news department as a photographer. He spent 15 years with KMIR-TV and during that time, he was KMIR’s first full time news producer and started KMIR-TV’s first morning show. In 2005, he decided to try my luck in the real estate market as a realtor for Classic Homes and in 2006 he began working for the Palm Springs Pavilion Theatre as the marketing and PR director until the theatre closed the following year. In 2007 he decided to go back to work in local television and was hired by KESQ-TV, the Desert’s News Leader as their assignment manager. He been awarded with six Emmy Awards and one Golden Mic Award for years of covering Coachella Valley news.