This week I had the distinct pleasure of talking on the phone with Steve Buttry. He is the director of
community engagement and social media for Digital First Media. Digital First Media used to be known as the Journal Register Company and it owns a bunch of news properties in the Northeast and beyond. Steve is a well-known innovator in the journalism world and often speaks to industry groups about his experience with the hyperlocal news startup TBD.com and other ventures.
I wanted to talk to Steve about why I am so damn busy. Actually, I wanted to pick his brain about ways to deal with the ever-increasing workload we all feel as journalists in the 21st century. Why bother an even busier guy with a question like that? Well, because, Steve is presenting a webinar titled “Managing your Changing Workload.” (It’s from 1 to 2 p.m., CST, Feb. 10, and it would be $35 well spent.)
Newspapermen and women have always worked at break-neck speed. It’s just that we did far fewer things in the not-so old days. We used our time to obsess over comma splices and AP style. We still do that, but now we have to update the Web, tweet game results, write blogs that add nuance to our coverage, upload videos, moderate comments, curate user generated content… Obviously, something’s got to give. …

