Some years ago, while working at a newspaper, I covered the dismissal of charges against a group of people. When this group had been arrested a few years earlier, the newspaper ran their mug shots on the front page.
It was before I had joined the newspaper, and I played no role in the decision. I argued with the editors that if we could run their mug shots on the front page when they were arrested, we could run them again when exonerated.
They responded: If you can find them, we’ll run them. They didn’t want to live up to their stated policy that we should also clear their name when someone was acquitted or exonerated if we highlighted their arrest in the newspaper.
I tried to fulfill the newspaper’s north star, even if the leadership cared little for it. The newspaper’s management wanted the credit for espousing morals, not to admit when they fell short.
(This is the epitome of poor leadership.)
However, much to my surprise, when I tried to track down the mug shots, no one in the newspaper bothered to save them. I talked to everyone I knew and some I didn’t in other departments. Their response was more or less laughing my request off.
As I recall, the authorities were also less than inclined to help.
You see, no one at the newspaper thought about what their needs might be in the future. They weren’t playing the long game and didn’t plan to live up to their stated promise.
It didn’t enter the equation that they might need to use these mug shots again, so perhaps they should spare a few megabytes and save them for another day. If you believe the hype, then you should understand journalism is serious; it has the power to influence public opinion.
This paper promised to report equally on arrests, convictions and, arguably more importantly, acquittals. In short, they weren’t taking their responsibility to the community seriously.
I wish I could say that this scenario was limited to simply a shortcoming of people working for newspapers. If we’re to be “intellectually honest,” as a former acquaintance liked to say, too often, we’re worried about the here and now.
When laser-focused on what needs attention today, we neglect to think about where we might be headed. The long game isn’t just for golf; it’s something everyone needs to keep in mind as we navigate our daily responsibilities.