Advising the Chronicle: How I taught high school journalism students to run billion-dollar companies (and you can too)

The journalism teacher who inspired generations of teenagers to aim for excellence–not just on the high school newspaper but for the rest of their lives–provides the playbook and offers strategies for everyone to improve their writing skills.

Part memoir, part instruction manual, former UPI reporter and magazine freelancer Kathleen Neumeyer explains how she inadvertently taught smart but spoiled teenagers how to manage billion-dollar companies, after an inadvertent midlife career change to advising student publications at one of America’s top prep schools.

Praise for Kathleen Neumeyer:

“It’s clear she taught me how to be a journalist and the importance of the media. But what really stuck with me were the underlying skills that it takes to run a business: lead by example, work with intensity, act with integrity and pay attention to detail. Ms. Neumeyer stressed the importance of a good manager, one who focused on clearing the roadblocks for employees and then empowering them to solve their own problems. Managers in the workplace, like editors at a high school newspaper, exist to help their direct reports be more successful, not to boss them around.”
–Spencer Rascoff, Co-founder & Chair Pacaso, Queue and dot.LA; co-founder of Zillow and Hotwire.

“As a TV reporter for the past nearly 17 years and a writer at Fortune Magazine before that, my whole professional career has been informed by the lessons learned in Kathy’s classroom.”
–Julia Boorstin, senior media and tech correspondent, CNBC

“As the adviser for our high school paper, Kathy Neumeyer fostered an environment where we eagerly collaborated to put out the best possible product. It wasn’t enough to collect a variety of views from students and teachers; she taught us that thorough stories needed to include perspectives from experts and other professionals outside of the school community. It’s a skill that has proved indispensable in my career.”
–Michael Kaplan, investigative producer, CBS News.

“I often tell people that my only formal journalism training was in high school. Kathy Neumeyer taught me lessons that have informed my practice ever since. Report fairly but aggressively, evaluate the facts and construct a compelling narrative; I apply these ideas every day while reporting on various media businesses. She taught every person on our high school newspaper staff something useful, whether it was how to ask questions, write a direct sentence or collaborate effectively and respectfully.”
–Lucas Shaw, managing editor, Bloomberg News.

“I have never feared or respected an editor more or learned more in a newsroom than I
did at the Chronicle. I don’t know what I would have done with my life without her.”
–Julia Wick, metro reporter, Los Angeles Times