Never a shortage of things to do
Mike Hanks tells aspiring editors about the skills needed to cover a lot of responsibilities.
By Jhenna Becker
As a child, Mike Hanks wanted to be a game show host. He told everyone he wanted to be a game show host because he loved playing games, much more than playing with toys. But along with a passion for games, he had a passion for creative writing. In middle school, he started a one-sheet “newspaper” with a friend, which was perhaps an indication that he would someday work for a newspaper.
After taking a journalism class, Hanks went on to join the high school newspaper. His uncle worked as an editor for a newspaper, which Hanks would visit during his senior year of high school. A growing interest in reporting and creating a newspaper sparked his future in journalism.
Now, Hanks works as a community editor for Sun Newspapers in Bloomington, Minn. He has numerous responsibilities such as being the primary reporter, being a photographer and uploading weekly news content to the websites.
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Q: How did you end up in this position?
A: I ventured an hour away to UW-River Falls with the goal of being a print journalism major. Five years later, I graduated with that degree and started my career in a small farming community in western Wisconsin. I followed my college friend to International Falls, where we both worked as reporters at a small weekday paper. After nearly 2–1/2 years, I headed back to the Twin Cities without a job. I knew I wanted to live in the Twin Cities, so I was unwilling to consider larger daily papers outside of the metro, such as Rochester or Duluth. I wound up being hired by Sun Newspapers in January 1998. I was a general assignment reporter, picking up stories for a handful of our suburban weeklies. Within a year, I became the editor of one of our west metro papers and did that for nearly 11 years. I moved to our Richfield paper, and 10 years ago I moved to Bloomington. I didn’t plan to spend 21 years at Sun Newspapers, but here I am.
Q: What are your responsibilities as an editor? How do you manage those responsibilities?
A: I am the primary reporter for news in my city, Bloomington. I’m also a photographer and paginator for the paper. I upload the weekly news content to our website. I manage to accomplish many of my weekly tasks simply by putting in long hours most weeks. There’s never a shortage of things to do.
Q: What are some memorable anecdotes in your time as an editor?
A: There were a couple of the protesters outside a Bloomington dental office four years ago, outraged that the owner had been part of a lion hunt that resulted in the shooting of a “protected” lion. I remember their outrage and claims that they’d be there for as long as it took to shut down the dental practice. I thought it was odd that these folks were so outraged to the point of showing up simply because of a story from an overseas publication that suggested the dentist may have been unethical in his big game hunting. Ethical or not, there was an international rush to judgment based upon one story that captivated the world. The instant hatred and vitriol was so bizarre, given the limited information. But I remember the comments of a couple of protesters quite vividly, and despite their claims they wouldn’t go away, their protests were symbolic.
Q: What is the most challenging part of being an editor?
A: These days it’s finding enough time and energy to accomplish half of what you would like to do in any given week. We had a small photography staff 11 years ago. We had designers who paginated the weekly papers six years ago. I’ve inherited those jobs and lots of other duties and responsibilities, all while allegedly being the eyes and ears of the community. One person can’t do all of that on a weekly basis, and do it well, but that’s the challenge these days.
Q: What has been your most valuable learning experience as an editor?
A: I’ve learned a variety of skills thanks to the growth of our technology and the slow death of our industry. When I graduated college, there weren’t websites. Nobody talked of online publishing. I never dreamed that our computers would one day have video editing software, or that I would edit video from a community event for an online version of the newspaper. I’ve learned so many other skills, out of necessity thanks to the last 21 years.
Q: What advice would you give the aspiring editor?
A: You will likely need a variety of skills that aren’t related to editing copy. From digitally editing photos to making judgments about the fairness and necessity of reporting on ethical issues involving elected officials, being an editor requires a lot of knowledge about the world around you, but it’s unlikely you’ll be an expert on many of those topics.
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Editors of community papers wear many different hats. For Hanks, it’s not just about perfecting AP style and grammar; it’s about getting the reporting done , taking photos, designing the pages, managing the website and much more. It can be stressful at times, especially when he has to be depended upon to be the eyes and ears of the community, but the reward of making an impact on the community makes it all worth it.
