How free food helps drive the WSJ newsroom

Kristen Hare of Poynter interviewed Wall Street Journal deputy managing editor of digital Jennifer Hicks and Journal executive emerging media editor Carla Zanoni on how they motivate their staffs.

Hare writes, “Being face-to-face while on different continents is great, but sitting in the same physical space is also important, Hicks said. One way they’ve cultivated that space in real life at the Journal is through the 2006 creation of a news hub. With that hub, they brought together people who made the key decisions during real-time news.

“‘And bringing all of those people together into the same physical space is just incredibly valuable because you can yell over to someone, ‘are we on this?’ You can share things on social,’ she said. ‘And having all the right people together in that space is incredibly effective.”

“They’re also flexible with the news hub, changing it as the news itself warrants.

“‘…Obviously you need to make sure all the technical problems and barriers are out of the way and people can log into their computers easily, but I think that’s one way how people who are short on resources can think about maximizing the space they have,’ Hicks said.

3. Find ways to bring in food

“‘Never underestimate the power of food with journalists,’ Zanoni said. ‘Free food.'”

Read more here.