TAKEAWAY: There is something new in the air about how young people in the newsroom assume the role of teaching their mentors about the new digital world. It changes the dynamic in the mentor/mentoree relationship. It is a win win situation for everyone. ALSO: S. Pellegrino’s tribute to opera: brand and storytelling AND: The Economist’s cover-lessons in quick storytelling
Junior mentors play a role
Mentoring is an organic process, in my view. It happens naturally. Few people set out one day with an item on their to do list which reads “find mentor”. The mentor appears. The relationship between you and your mentor evolves over a long period of time—as in years.
We never forget our mentors and their teachings. We remember them often, as in : what would X do in a situation like this?
And what great joy and boost for one’s career—and life—it is to find a good mentor.
Mentors are teachers that instruct us on a variety of topics, but they are more than that: they are people who see the potential in us, then set out to help us develop it, expand it, guide it in the right direction. Few great careers have been achieved without at least one mentor standing in the background.
Normally, our mentors are people who have traveled the road we wish to travel. They are in our own profession. They share common interests with us. In a way, they see young versions of themselves in us.
Whatever the mentor/mentoree relationship: we all need those mentors.
When the mentoree mentors his mentor
And the reason I discuss the topic today in the blog is because I am beginning to observe a distinct (but good) phenomenon: when the young mentoree sets out to mentor the mentor.
Obviously, this is not mentoring at the traditional level, but it’s related to that new industry dilemma—the nexus of traditional journalism and the new digital storytelling and technology.
This level of mentoring takes place when editors of a certain age are not so well equipped to handle the fast changes taking place in the newsroom around them.
That’s where the young mentors come in: they join forces with their older colleague, share knowledge about how digital works, nurture, provide opportunity for exchanges, and never make the older mentor feel inadequate or stupid.
Just as we need those mentors to take us to that next level of our potential, perhaps we also need to seek opportunities to “mentor” the mentors.
In newsrooms where this dynamic is present, the results are obvious. With mutual respect, the mentor/mentoree relationship can be altered slightly and everyone benefits.
Previously about mentors in TheMarioBlog:
40 Years/40 Lessons (4)—Mentors.
https://www.garciamedia.com/blog/articles/40_years_40_lessons_4—mentors/
Pellegrino celebrates Italian Opera, Pavarotti
The iconic green S. Pellegrino bottle pays tribute to the late tenor Luciano Pavarotti
If you are a fan of S. Pellegrino water (as I am), then you can’t miss this month’s arrival of the iconic green bottles with a celebration of Italian opera, and, particularly, a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti.
S. Pellegrino celebrates with a special limited edition Luciano Pavarotti, and a way of also highlighting Italian talents and “Italian excellence”.
What does a mineral water brand have in common with opera, or with one distinguished tenor?
Not much in the surface, but a lot if you see this as a way for everyday brand products telling stories through packaging, and connecting with users and with their communities beyond the value of the product itself.
As more advertising sponsored content appears, I can imagine opportunities for advertisers to tie their brands to specific topics and content, starting right on the package, and then weaving stories to be told across platforms.
Storytelling is not just across platforms, it is also across products.
S. Pellegrino’s famous green bottle shows us how.
The Economist’s cover
This week’s cover of The Economist does it again, conveying the essence of its main story visually in 10 seconds. This time, the headline The Sleepwalkers appears to be like the title of a film, and the rest of the cover is turned into a movie poster.
Best part is the “reviews”, such as “Fifty Shades of Grey, Without the Sex”.