How the pandemic moved us out of the newsroom and turned everyone into a bureau chief

My colleagues get a sense of what it's like to orbit outside our New York City headquarters

Like a galaxy, a newsroom has its own sun and planets. During the pandemic, each of my colleagues has experienced the remote work outer orbit I occupy as a reporter based in Washington, D.C., for a publication headquartered in New York City.

In the newsroom constellation, editors are the sun. They toil at the center of the InvestmentNews universe making daily and long-term coverage decisions — with substantial input from the reporters.

My reporter colleagues who are based in New York are in the Mercury orbit. They work only a few feet — sometimes just inches — away from the editors. In our morning news meetings, they sit with the editors around a conference room sharing a terrific view of the Chrysler Building.

The Mercury reporters can swivel in their chairs or take a short walk across the newsroom to talk to editors about their stories or coverage ideas. They also hear — and can add to — chatter about the publication or banter about the Mets, Jets, Knicks or the quirks of New York life. Most importantly, they share a strong sense of mission that comes from close interaction with colleagues.

As a reporter working out of InvestmentNews’ D.C. bureau, my only live daily connection with my colleagues was during the morning news conference call. But I had to dial in, interacting with disembodied voices. And once the call ended, I was on my own — with only occasional electronic contact with New York.

I have worked in D.C. 28 years, so I embrace being here. But as I’m pursuing my daily news coverage, I can feel disconnected from the InvestmentNews universe.

This dynamic changed abruptly in mid-March. Now each of my colleagues works out of his or her own home bureau. Welcome to my Jupiter orbit, friends.

One positive aspect of the pandemic is the use of Microsoft Teams video (no, we don’t use Zoom). It helps foster a shared sense of mission when I can look at my colleagues as well as hear their voices in our morning meeting. But when that meeting concludes, we’re all on our own now, it’s not just me and one or two others.

So, I feel as if I’m the strongest advocate for our annual in-person staff meetings. I love going to New York and working within easy reach of my colleagues for a few days.

Now that we’ve all experienced the outer rings of the InvestmentNews orbit, I hope we’ll schedule in-person gatherings at least twice a year after the pandemic subsides and fully appreciate what a gift it is to work together.