Welcome to Knight Talks, the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications talk show, produced by students.

I'm Madelyn Markman, a junior st digital film and TV production.

And our guest today is Diane McF who was an executive editor at the Gainesville Sun and Sarasota Herald-Tribune befo becoming the president and publi of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

She is also the former dean of t Now she's Dean Emeritus of the c Hi, Diane.

Thank you so much for being here Thank you, Madelyn.

It's a pleasure to be here.

It's so cool that you were a graduate of the Did you always want to study jou You know, for as long as I can r I wanted to study journalism.

My goal in life was to be the to of the Atlanta Journal Constitut Don't ask me why I honed in on that particula And although I never achieved th I had a career in journalism that I thoroughly And, really it was kind of punctuated for me when I was 15 years old, because my father knew of my interest in newspapers, and he mentioned it to the publi of the local newspaper in my hom which is Lake Wales, Florida.

And he knew the publisher throug their Rotary Club, and he mentio And Mr. Marsh, John Marsh said, well, send her down to talk to me.

Long story short, he ended up hi And by the end of the summer I was the vacation replacement for the county commission report and I was hooked.

I was absolutely hooked.

And I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life.

And I also knew that this is where I wanted to get my because this program has such a sterling reputation.

So it all played out for me.

Wow That's incredible to have starte as a teenager in newspapers.

Yeah, it was an amazing experien And particularly, you know, it was Lake Wales, Flo a really small town in central F very small paper.

I think the circulation was 10,0 but because it was so small, I got to do things that I would have never been abl had it been the Orlando Sentinel or the Boca Raton News.

It was just a golden opportunity And both Mr. Marsh, the owner and publisher, and John Caldwell, the managing editor, took a special interest in me because I was a young woman who, was driven to get into the busin So they gave me opportunities that were just golden.

And summer after my senior year in high sch both of them had to be out of to at the same time and they left m in charge of the newsroom.

So I was getting experiences that were so rare.

Oh, wow.

That's amazing.

And tell us about your time as a and eventually Managing Editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Well, because of this experience in high school now, I worked every summer, Christmas, spring vacation, ever at the Daily Highlander through high school and college.

So by the time I graduated, I had a good bit of experience and a thick portfolio of article I was engaged to marry my high s sweetheart.

He was in Sarasota, so that's where I interviewed fi And lo and behold, they had a reporter position.

So I was hired as a reporter in after I graduated in June, and then just took on different I was Assistant News Editor and I was City Editor.

At 30 I became Managing Editor, which was very young, but I had so much more experienc than the typical 30 year old.

And that was when the New York T bought our newspaper and we became part of that compa And that's why I didn't want to because that was such a great company to work for.

So I stayed in Sarasota until The N Times asked me to go to the Gainesvill as Executive Editor.

So I came here at 33 as Executive Editor.

Wow.

That's incredible.

Quite fast paced in a career.

It really was.

But again, you know, I've counse students over the years about th You can be a little fish in a bi or a big fish in a little pond.

And either path works.

Either path can advance you.

It's just a different pace.

So my pace kind of being a big fish in a li if you will, because I had, you know, this experience positioned me to rise through th in that little pond.

I could have gone to the Atlanta Journal Constitut which is, you know, where I always envisio But my progression would have been much slower.

And neither path is wrong.

They're both great paths, but you have to consider a lot of other factors: where yo to live, your personal circumsta Again, I was a newlywed and my husband was working in Sa so all those things factor in.

What big time in life, to have the personal life and the career life just blossoming at once.

Yeah, it was, of course, you know, back then it was sort that you would get engaged in co and get married right after coll And I'm happy that that's not the presumption that, you know, all of us can pu whatever we want to pursue without, you k societal pressures like that.

Bu you know, it did put me on that And I think probably the best th to happen to me in my career other than that experience in hi school, was when the New York Ti bought that newspaper because they brought a big city ethic to our newsroom.

They invested a great deal of mo in the newspaper.

And so we were punching above ou That's quite a challenge.

And eventually you became the Ex Editor at the Gainesville Sun.

So what led to this move and what did this role entail?

Well, I'm assuming that The New Company wanted me to have experi as the top editor.

When you're Managing Editor and City Editor, you're very foc on the day-to-day news coverage.

But as Executive Editor, you have larger considerations.

You have the strategic direction of the newsroom.

You're the final voice in hiring people and selecting c You determine how resources are going to be in and what investigative stories you're going to make that big in And so Gainesville was an opport to do that, and I loved it.

I was only here three years, sad but it was a wonderful three yea First of all, how exciting it was to come back to Gainesvil where the University of Florida where, you know, the J-school is and to be able to interact with professors that I admired so much, but to be more of a peer with th as Editor of The Sun and Gainesv was in a period of dramatic tran then it was going from a town that was very small and, you know, not a lot of rapid gro that was growing rapidly.

And there was a great deal of fr in the community over that.

The environmental community, the that was concerned about growth you know, in contention, if you will, with the business c that wanted to see that growth.

And so we had a role to play as a local newspaper to kind of mediate those debates and cover those de in a way that both sides would see as fai So it was really an exciting tim It was also a newsroom, the news in Gainesville was less than half the size of the newsroom in Sara So I was able to be out on the f more and, you know, really engaging more d with the reporters and editors.

And I love that.

Wow.

To be around during that time of and at this role in the newspape So were there any particular sto that stand out as impactful to the north central Florida com at that time?

You know, there were a lot of really interesting stories going and we had such a fabulous group of reporters.

They were digging up a lot of st One of the things that newspaper beautifully then and really aren capable of doing now was we were present day to day, city commission meetings county commission meetings.

We were in city hall, we were at the county admission county administration building in the courtrooms at the police department, really what was going on and determinin what things residents needed to And that's so important because don't know what they don't know.

And if the newspaper's not prese the residents of any community a They're raising families.

They're, you know, they have their own jobs to do.

So it was the role of the newspa to fair all that out.

And I feel like we did a good jo We started winning awards and The New York Times took notice and they invested in the Gainesv We made a proposal for a strategic expansion of the and they invested in that, giving us money for I think it was 20 new positions, which really made a big differen and the community noticed that.

What kind of difference?

Well, you're covering things that you weren't able to cover b It's really about capacity and it's about attention span.

And if you have a very small sta of people, it's difficult, you know, to justify sitting through a whole county commission meetin But when you do that, you become aware of things that are going o in the community that you might have known about otherwise.

So I'm very hopeful that journal will get back to that, that the capacity will be regain It will be different.

It will look different than it has in the past.

But I'm hopeful that, you know, a new formula will be figured ou For one thing, the printing process is so expensive And so with the reduction of the frequency of, you know, the print product that I think will make it possib for organizations through digital means to be able with less expense than we had in A revival.

Right, yeah.

I'm hopeful for it to get back to that investigatio That's right.

And that presence you know, my old paper in Saraso Herald-Tribune is doing a fantas of investigative journalism.

They've won Pulitzers.

They've won a lot of national aw for their work.

But what is being lost there and in other communities is that day-to-day presence, is the community aware of what's go And as I said, people don't know what they don' They don't know what they're mis And there's a great deal of rese being done now by institutions of higher learning into the impact of this And what they're finding is that voting is down, corruption is up You know, if you don't have anyo minding the store, if you will, if you don't have that watchdog then there's a greater tendency for corrupt behavior to start to And that is beginning to be dete in communities around the countr So that's why the journalist rol is so critically important.

That is the obligation of journa is to be present and to inform the public about what's going on in their own com Everybody's focused on what's going on nationally.

You know, we can all tell you what's going on in national poli Right.

But the knowledge and awareness going on at the grassroots level has been diminished.

And after some time, you elevate to the role of Presi and Publisher of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

Now, was this a promotion that you were already working for, or did you have to compete for this pos I never wanted to be a publisher My goal was to stay in the newsr I envisioned, you know, playing the rest of my career as Executi But I had been Executive Editor by that time for nine years, I t And I was beginning to think wha You know what, I don't think I w to stay in this role for another So my boss and mentor, Lynn Matt who was President of the Herald- was named Publisher excuse me, named President of the New York Regional Newspaper Group, which meant he would be over all New York Times regional newspape And at that time, I think there were about 20 of t So he called me into his office said, I would like for you to su I think you're ready to be a pub And I turned him down.

I said, I really don't think I would be happy in the publishe I love the news business so much The business side doesn't appeal to me, so thank you very much.

I appreciate your confidence, but I don't think I want to do i And I was also on the ladder to be president of the American of Newspaper Editors, which is a role that I'd aspired for several years and worked ver for that organization.

And I didn't think that a publis could be head of ASNE.

Long story short, he kept at me about it and finally he said, Look, it ca or it can be someone you don't k who may not be a great boss.

So you decide.

And after a lot of soul searchin I thought, well, okay, I'll give this a shot.

It's time to try something diffe I'm probably in a rut here.

I love to be on the learning cur And boy, is this a way to get on the learning curve.

So I accepted it and it's one of decisions I ever made in my life I loved everything about it.

I learned so much.

I learned how to be a businesswo In addition to being a newswoman I learned how to read spreadshee and PNL statements and how to ma that side of the business.

I learned how presses run and I got to engage with the different cultures in the newsroom.

We had eight locations, over fou counties, 600 employees.

Our revenue base was $125 millio It was a big operation, so it was a lot for me to bite o but it was just a blast.

And then, as I mentioned earlier probably one of the biggest adva was that I got to engage in the as a volunteer, as a, you know, frontline community vo without worrying about that conflict issue, because the news that I would never tell them to something that was going to look on something that I was involved So that was a whole new vista fo And I just loved it.

So I had that role.

I was in the publisher role for when the next thing happened in The next thing?

Which would be?

Well, the New York Times sold the regional newspaper group.

And it was a great business deci for the Times because local journalism was in decline and that's a long story, and I think most people know tha But our paper was sold and so new owners came in and it they were nice people, but it was a very different organiza from The New York Times.

And they cut benefits of the employees.

And I was going to bat to try to keep those benefits.

And I was becoming a thorn in the side of the new owners.

So I thought, you know, it probably is time for me to mo but what am I going to do?

What is next for me?

And I was thinking about the nonprofit sector.

I was actually thinking about a because Season of Sharing had been so rewarding.

And I was at a time in my life when the money wasn't important I wanted to continue to do somet in the public service space.

So about that time, John Wright of this colleg retired, announced that he was stepping d He didn't retire, he announced that he was stepping down as Dea And I got a call from the recruiter, the search f for the position and said, you've been nominated to throw your hat in the ring fo And I said, well, I laughed.

I said, Well, you know, I appreciate the call and I'm so flattered, but I can' I don't have an advanced degree.

I'd been on the Dean's search co I'd been on the Dean's search co two positions before John.

And I said, I know that an advan is required, but thanks for call And she said, not so fast.

The President and Publisher want us to bring to the table the way she phrased it was CEO t with a journalism background.

And I said, really?

Okay, I have to think about this So I did and I consulted a lot of trusted And to the person they said, You have to do this, Diane, you'll be crazy to pass u this opportunity.

Long story short, I did.

And I was selected and it was probab the most wonderful thing to happ was to be able to come up here at a time of great expansion and momentum in this c Its an amazing place.

It's a very special place.

And it's always been an ambitious institution.

And to contribute to that growth and momentum was immensely rewar And to be around students.

Here, it was all optimism and forward thinking and excitem and just this sense of energy that was so invigorating and you timing in life is everything.

And I have benefited in my life from just incredible, good timing in terms of opportun that have been presented to me.

I arrive, the recession ends, the university starts reinvesting in the college.

And so we had the means to do so that the college had not been ab over a period of time, including faculty, adding new programs, adding three centers, opening th expanding the Innovation News Ce expanding the media properties.

It's just, it was just a gloriou And I feel so blessed that I was Oh, wow.

What a beautiful trajectory.

Yeah, it was.

Wow.

So now on the topic of your time as Dean of the CJC, what were some of your personal in this role?

I'm very proud of the fact that we nurtured research, was able to be able to help build those programs.

We expanded our stable of resear You know, esteemed faculty were during that period because, agai we had the resources to do that.

And they've made such a huge dif And now you're a Dean Emeritus.

So what do you do in this role?

I just have that fancy title, you know, I'm fully retired.

I'm working on my health.

And I got married in November.

And my husband and I are traveli just trying to do things that neither one of us had time when we were full-time career pe We both worked long hours and, you know, seven days a week.

And so we're trying to build another side of our lives.

But at the same time, I am always here for this colleg And I really use Dean Ralph Lowenstein as my role mode Ralph continued to live in Gainesville I have a home here and he was always available to m for advice or counsel, just a second opinion or whateve But he never meddled.

He never inserted himself inappropriately into our busines And so that's how I want to be a Emeritus: always here, always willing to h if I'm able.

But, you know, my term is up, my tenure is up.

And it's one that I feel good ab and I hope others do as well.

But I'm so excited about Hub Brown's tenure.

I've known him for many years.

We've served on accreditation site teams together, and I know what a high caliber Dean he's go He is, his integrity, his excitement about this college and its poten Oh, and the way that you still h this warmth to the Gator communi it's just so wonderful as a lifelong Gator nation.

Yeah.

You know, I mean, I grew up a Ga My dad was a Gator, so I said I, you know, never aspired to go anywhere but this was where I wanted to get m And then I was on the Journalism Council for 15 years for this co I was on the Dean Search Committ when I was editor of the Gainesv And so my life has been, I joke, my life has been up and down I-7 because when I left here, I went to Sarasota and then I came back here as Editor of The Sun, and then I went back to Sarasota and then I came here as Dean, an this is home.

I always thought I would retire to Sarasota, but I love G and I love being in this environ you know, being a part of a University city and being able to watch, you know, to be on the front lin if you will, of what's happening in this college.

I could not be prouder of this c and its just going to continue because its capacity has been bu so solidly that the sky's the limit.

Wow.

Now here's the next part.

What advice would you give to graduating students who are look to get their foot in the door?

Well, my primary piece of advice is to do exactly what you're doi and what this class is doing, and that is: do it.

Whatever it is you think you want to do as a do it.

Try it on for size, practice it.

And one of two things are going One is you'll find that you're r really good at it, that you really love it.

And when you go to job interview they're going to be very impress that you've already done it, that you have a portfolio that is evidence of your capacit to do well in that job.

The other thing that might happe you'll find that you don't like and it's really not the right ca for you and that you should try some other things what would really give you joy, because joy in work is critically important.

If you don't find joy in it, you're not going to be good at i and your life will be fairly mis So, yes, do this, you know, practice, practice, practice.

Try things that you think you might not like.

I always said, you know, be a regular volunteer One quick anecdote.

When I was City Editor in Saraso the owners of the paper, this was before the New York Tim were investing in the first onli computer system for the newspape and they needed someone to be th editor to help program that computer and get it up and running for the newsroom.

I knew nothing about computers.

I've never been a math genius or a science genius, but I knew that I was going to learn something.

So I raised my hand and voluntee They sent me to Boston for six w in January and February to learn how to program this system, and it opened up a whole other side of my brain I didn't know I That has kind of shut down now b don't know much about computers it was such a remarkable experie for me.

And shortly after that, I took flying lessons to learn how to f because I was kind of afraid of and I didn't understand flying.

And I just think that's critically important.

Whatever you're most fearful of, Take a chance on yourself and you'll be so surprised at what you're capable of doing, and even more surprised at how it opens doors for you and how perceptions of you will When I learned the computer syst the publisher had to come to me to see if something could be don So all of a sudden I had power and influence in that organization that I would have never had prio So, always volunteer even if you're terrified.

Oh, wow.

Thank you so much for your insig And this is so inspiring to hear from a newswoman, to businesswomen, with philanthropic efforts and as well as dabblings in plan and computer programing.

It has been incredible to hear y And thank you so much for joinin Thank you, Madelyn.

It's been such a pleasure to talk wit Thank you.

And thank you to our viewers for joining us.

Until next time, goodnight.