[Excerpts from a workshop sponsored by the American Society of Business Publication Editors, D.C. chapter]
“Offices are evil, inefficient, and costly.”
- David Silverberg, editor, HSToday
And that isn’t all …
“Journalists have always telecommuted. Why was there a newsroom in the first place? Because the printing press was in the basement and you needed a place to assemble copy and lay out pages.”
“We have writers in Athens, London, Madrid, and all over the United States. We get a lot more work out of people because we concentrate on results, not on atmospherics.”
“I can take a 5-minute nap at 2:30.”
“Today, people need to justify telecommuting, but in the future, they will have to justify an office.”
Picking up the thread is June Fletcher, a long-time reporter for The Wall Street Journal, who works out of a house in Virginia with Mr. Silverberg, to whom she is married …
“It comes down to trust. Do you consider your employees grown-ups?”
“At the same time, management must be clear about expectations.”
The downside for a telecommuter? “Isolation,” says Fletcher, who finds solutions in lunches with sources–and with Mr. Silverberg.
The opposing view …
From Joe Haas, managing editor of CD Publications:
“An office encourages collegiality and give-and-take. Many people are terrific at keeping themselves on track, but working at home can be distracting.”
“An employer who permits telecommuting is taking a great leap of trust. That’s multiplied when the employee has kids.”
“Ultimately, there is not a one-size-fits-all answer. A Washington office, like ours, covering the Capitol for the rest of the country, is different from a national publication with reporters everywhere.”
