By MIKE FRAZIER

    The IHSPA core values of truth, courage, integrity, and freedom mean little if they do not live in our classroom and publications. If they don’t live there, these core values may become “quaint ideals” that seem irrelevant and vague in the not too distant future. Without action, they are simply that.
     For the purposes of our history, let the record show that the IHSPA officers specifically intended for the core values to be reflected in virtually everything we do as an organization. From Task Team project development to summer workshop programs to executive board decisions, the values must be actively considered and applied.
     
Kim Green, IHSPA president, leads the retreat group through an "ice breaker" exercise at the Abe Martin Lodge Dec. 5-7.
Core Values: Taking a second look
     So are we taking measure of our own creation? How do we know if the values are making an impact on our organization and publications? We need to turn our passion into action.
     Pam Johnson, a member of the Leadership and Management Faculty at the Poynter Institute, conducted a workshop in November for a passionate group of editors wanting better election coverage for their papers. Their approach was similar in many respects to ours when we developed the core values and mission statement. While their mission was different, their gathering produced a plan that is remarkably similar to our own.

     

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEWING THE THOUGHT PROCESS
     I simply want to review the thought process and reflect on the passion we bring to the table today.
At the Poynter workshop, 37 journalists from 30 newspapers (of all sizes and geographic locations) “unpacked their passions,: according to Johnson. At the initial retreat in 2001, nearly 30 officers, friends, and members of the IHSPA gathered to do precisely the same thing.
     The result? The editors, and essentially, the IHSPA posed the following questions and searched for answers. Amazingly, both groups followed a similar path.
“Why do we want better coverage?” the editors asked. “Why do we want a better organization?” IHSPA members asked.
     “What would wildly successful coverage look like?” asked the editors. “What would a wildly successful IHSPA look like?” we asked.
“What works? What could work better?” Both groups studied this in detail. For the editors, this meant “digging into the staples of elections coverage, questioning automatic reflexes, seeking out experts for guidance, and keeping in mind the reader and the media landscape.” For the IHSPA, this meant “digging into organization structure, questioning assumptions regarding our purpose, seeking expert help in defining our goals, and keeping in mind our members, especially the student journalists.

TRANSLATING PASSIONS INTO ACTIONS
     “How might a plan help?” Again, each group explored translating their passion into specific actions. Both focused on the same five questions: “What ideas fit your newsroom? (For us, substitute “organization” for “newsroom”.) “Who will you get involved?” “How will they contribute?” “What training might be needed?” “What’s the timetable?” For anyone at that first retreat, these will sound familiar.
     “Who can make it happen?” This is what the editors decided: “It’s time for leadership--sharing the vision, the purposes, the successful outcome. That’s what’s taking place this week in 30 newsrooms. It’s where the plan grows with additional ideas and where momentum begins to churn. It’s how the plan becomes the creation of many voices.”
     That is precisely the same conclusion reached at this very retreat two years ago–and now the passion is beginning to build around the state among members who want to contribute and among publications staffs who want to do better.
     The answer to “Who can make it happen?” should lead us to start taking measure of our own success. How DO we know the reorganization is working? How DO we know our members buy into the core values? How DO we know our student journalists consider these values when making day-to-day decisions? What are we doing as an organization to document our growth? If we can’t offer specific answers to each of those questions, then our job is not done. Then again, no one suggested that is would be anything but an ongoing process, rife with change and challenge.

LESSONS BEYOND POLITICS
    In the end, the journalists discovered some real “lessons beyond politics.” The IHSPA discovered “lessons beyond the Shirk Hall walls.” In both cases, the groups reached the same goals. As Johnson concluded in her report of the journalists:
• They modeled the value of passion in opening the door to change.
• They defined why the change matters.
• They envisioned success.
• They sought experts and context for veracity.
• They drafted specific plans, with action steps to give them legs.
• They set out to win support and build the ideas further.
• They recognized that the plans they have today will change--continuously.

    So, now it is time for us to see if our passion truly is “in action,” I would like for each of you to take a few minutes to complete a simple survey. Your answers will enable us to see how far we’ve come and where we still need to go. The results will be compiled in a report to our membership and provide a benchmark for change and inspiration.
     The new pioneers of the IHSPA were two years ahead of the editors on the road to meaningful change. To date, the IHSPA core values have high visibility, the task teams are focused on target missions, and the organization is far better prepared to serve students and advisers. As advisers and educators, we make incredible differences in our students’ lives. Now, as an organization that is built to last, we embrace a passion to make a positive difference in the lives of everyone who shares that road with us. May your passion always be in action.