Interview with Jill Geisler, 2022 Winner of the Larry Burkum Service Award
Interview conducted by Genevieve Buthod, June 13th, 2022
Questions written by Destiny Woods
The Burkum Award places a strong emphasis on service. What does it mean to create a life of service out of your profession? What does receiving this award mean for you?
I’ve always believed that journalism is a service profession. Our job is to learn and to share what we’ve learned. Many years ago, talking to youngsters at a career day, I said that my job is to learn something new every day and teach it. Because that is a service to others. In a deeper sense, doing all of that with a strong ethical and moral compass is the most rewarding. We have to find out how to reach people. How do we use that voice? I think you use it to be a trusted force for good.
What does that look like to you—a strong ethical compass in journalism?
It’s about knowing that you have to apply a process that you could explain to anyone when you are making a decision about what you cover, how you cover it, and why you cover it in the way that you do. It isn’t enough to say that it’s important, or that your gut tells you to do it. You should be thinking about the stakeholders that it affects. Think about how you could transparently share your process in thinking and deciding. It’s not about doing right or wrong. It’s about balancing multiple rights, and multiple wrongs. You’re looking at transparency as a value, and privacy as a value. You’re looking at clarity balanced by sensitivity. How do we talk about something like 9/11 in a way that is accurate to history without re-traumatizing people? You can’t balance the two without thinking about the value of both very clearly. And being able to define it and explain it helps you do that.
Throughout my professional career, encouraging people to aim for a career in our field has always been really important to me. After 25 years of working in journalism, making a shift from journalism to journalism education has really been the next step. After being a practitioner, now I can focus more on being a coach, trainer, and teacher. A lot of it involves that default of saying “yes” to organizations.
What organizations have you said “yes” to in the past?
Some people may have thought over the years that the voluntary things I did were more important than the actual work itself. Since 2012, I have co-led what is now the News Leaders Association’s Emerging Leaders Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It helps journalists grow into the management ranks. It’s the reason that I’m on the board of organizations like the Kneeland Project for Responsible Journalism or the Center for Journalism Ethics at University of Wisconsin, Madison. It’s why I’ve been an advisor for the JAWS, the Journalism & Women Symposium. It’s why I have volunteered with so many projects with the Radio Television Digital News Association, or RTDNA. It’s why whenever I’m presenting anywhere, I give everyone in the room my email address, and tell them that if they ever encounter a challenge or an opportunity in journalism, I’m only an email away.
The connection Report for America has with Loyola is that I have volunteered at its training sessions for corps members. I agree to do it as a volunteer. That’s where the connections start to get made.
So much of your career has been dedicated to developing future journalists. Can you tell me about the convictions that have driven both your career as a journalist and your approach as a mentor/coach? How do you see these convictions reflected in Jesuit education?
Continuous learning. Helping others succeed. Helping others think through challenges. And giving voice to important issues and people who may go otherwise unheard. All of these are core values in my life, and seem wholly consistent with the values of Jesuit education
How has working with future journalists influenced your teaching style and outlook on the profession?
The short answer is, it hasn’t. I have always believed in interactive teaching. I apply the principles of andragogy, or adult learning, to the professionals and the students with whom I work. I think treating people with respect for what they already know is critical. I love building community in any classroom, Zoom room, or newsroom that I’m privileged to lead and teach.
Practices in media industry management have been improving over the years. What is one of the greatest changes you've seen?
Many journalists are promoted to leadership roles because of their craft skills. But being a good writer doesn’t make you a good editor. And being a good anchor doesn’t automatically make you a good news director. Media organizations have realized that people may be good at craft, but they need additional training to lead other people to success in their profession. So I see a greater emphasis in leadership development. I have also seen in the most recent years an understanding that empathy is an essential skill of leadership. You cannot be ethical if your stories are incomplete. And without diversity, your stories and your newsroom are incomplete.
What changes do you feel the industry still needs? How can upcoming generations make these necessary changes?
The industry still needs to find a successful business model so that coverage is expanded and news deserts are eradicated. We must ensure that the wonderful young minds we are sending into the field of journalism can afford financially to stay in it. News organizations, whether traditional or new (subscriber-based or community-based), are still looking for sustainability. Unfortunately, you can love your job, but you also have to make sure that people are fairly compensated. In smaller organizations, this can cause you to lose people. I want it to be as fulfilling financially as it is spiritually for many people.
How can journalism as a profession continue to be an agent of change, in light of the development of new platforms to create and share media? What does this look like, specifically in the areas of social justice, ethics, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)?
News organizations need to continue to use technology in every possible way to improve the storytelling process. At the same time, they need to intensify their commitment to the humanity of those stories, to stay as close to a community as they can. To not be reporting about people but be reporting with them. It is investing time, talent, and heart into truly knowing the people you are reporting on. It’s changing the narratives. It is looking at issues rather than just events. Looking at systemic, rather than simplistic explanations behind both issues and events.
How can professionals in the media industry protect their own mental health while advocating for social justice?
You need to surround yourself with people who lift you up. You need to look for work and rest that feed your soul. Take very seriously your responsibilities to others, to deadlines, and to your work’s impact, but never take yourself too seriously.
How can tomorrow’s generations continue your ongoing work in social justice and DEI?
Remember that you never know enough, there is always more to learn. Challenge yourself to share and to care.
What are some best practices for recent graduates looking to “go forth and set the world on fire” through a career in journalism?
Build networks of knowledge and support. Look for feedback, positive and negative, on your work, knowing that we’re never as good today as we will become. And enjoy every step of the process that leads to growth.