A visual journalist's survival guide: If you're not scaring your boss, you're not trying hard enough

[Tim Frank]

Yes, if you're not scaring your boss, you're probably not trying hard enough. My staff has probably heard me use that expression too many times. It's really just about doing innovative work, but even more so about getting us out of our comfort zone.

Let's face it. We can't afford to be comfortable right now. Newspapers are under a state of siege and visual journalists are all too often the victims. Who wants to be a victim when there's still a chance to play offense?

When newspapers are forced to cut staff, visual journalists are often perceived to be all too expendable. The most extreme examples have actually resulted in the elimination of entire departments, blogged by Charles Apple here and here. Pretty scary.

But really, newspapers need creative professionals more than ever. Who else is going to bring the innovation that newspapers desperately need in order to survive the new media landscape? Papers like Puls Biznesu in Poland have shown that it can work.

Of course, it's all pointless you have brilliant ideas to which no one will listen. Often the most successful creative professionals are at least as good at selling their ideas as they are at their work. We'll talk more about that in coming days.

At this point, we have nothing to lose. We can keep our heads down, stay off the radar and take our chances. Or, we can be the ones who are trying to shake things up and move the ball forward.

So what do you say? Let's go out and scare our bosses, just a little.


Up next: Good work vs. readership

[Kyle Ellis]

I'm looking forward to the next post, Tim. I think it's great to have a forum like this to share and learn in!