My first newsroom was in a grand building with tall arched windows that dominated a street corner in the small Midwestern city where I worked. Inside, there was a high ceiling. "Did this used to be a bank?" many visitors would ask. But it had in fact, always been a newsroom.
I was young and shy when I first went to work there, and it probably took me a month before I talked to any of the other reporters. But eventually, they became my best friends, the core of my social life.
My second newsroom was the airy top floor of a historic building in the state capital of Maryland. It was smaller and less grand but far more energizing. My colleagues were older. I learned so much about how to be a reporter from overhearing their phone interviews.
This past summer, several American newspapers announced they would be closing their newsrooms. Many local newspapers have gone out of business in recent years, victims of declining circulation and shrinking advertising dollars. Then along came the coronavirus pandemic, and so many of us were sent home to work from there. The pleasant surprise is that we have all succeeded brilliantly in working remotely. But some managers have looked at this success and thought: "Why would we need to return to the newsroom?"
I worry that they are making a big mistake. A physical newsroom sends a powerful message to a community: "We are here for you." At my first job, strangers could walk right through the door and straight up to my desk. We treasured that visibility.
But I also think about the collaboration (合作) — of the times I would overhear colleagues talking about a story and realize that I had some useful information for them. Sometimes a colleague would see me in the hall and give me a story idea. I can't wait to get back to my newsroom.