Ashleigh Banfield Champions a "Rising Tide" of Mentoring

quotI can39t tell you how many times I39ve had a phone call or an email or someone stop by my desk usually on the younger side and fresh into the business asking for help and asking for advicequot Banfield said while explaining why she launched quotRising Tidequot last fall quotThey want guidance best practices tips anything that can help these young broadcasters get an edge or at least navigate the very tricky landscape of broadcast TVquotFor me this is a way to scale the kind of help that our younger generation in the business could use could benefit fromquot she added quotThen there39s a nice byproduct the craft will benefit as wellquotFour months in quotRising Tidequot attracts hundreds of people to each 30minute session They check in from all around the country and overseas Participants are invited to submit questions in advance for Banfield and her guests through her quotRising Tidequot website page After each session an excerpt is presented on her NewsNation show Banfield and lately the segments appear on the channel39s morning news program the following dayTo deepen her mentor capacity Banfield draws from connections she39s made over her more than three decades on the national TV scene She39s had anchorperson and host roles along the way at CNN MSNBC Court TV and HLNCBS Mornings coanchor Gayle King appeared four months ago followed by CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta and This Is Life hostproducer Lisa Ling Morning Joe cohost Mika Brzezinski will be in the mentor seat this month with Shepard Smith anchorperson of CNBC39s The News With Shepard Smith Sam Championamp160ABC39s Weather Anchor and Meghan McCainamp160Daily Mail Columnist and Political Commentator among the guests ondeck for the months aheadIn fact the guest schedule for quotRising Tidequot over the next 18 months is all booked up That39s encouraging Banfield with support from a number of trade organizations to explore holding inperson events as her schedule permits Look for the National Association of Broadcasters to schedule a session during one of its upcoming conventions in Las Vegas or New YorkThe overwhelming guest acceptance pleases Banfield quotEvery one of them said 39Yes count me in39quot she saidBy launching quotRising Tidequot Banfield wants to give others the depth of mentoring she rarely had access to when her journalism career began quotI wish I had a lot more of itquot she acknowledged quotWomen in the 3980s were considered by many as bimbos I can39t tell you the number of times I heard thatquot Eventually she did find guidance from a female news director And that experience is among the reasons why quotRising Tidequot holds such significance to herCommon subjects that pop up during each session include the toughest things people go through in their careers what makes them stronger or better journalism ethics and things they wish they knew way back when quotI39m greatly impressed with the questions and the insightquot Banfield noted quotThe attendees do their homework They know the bios and the backgrounds of these people going in It shows they are serious about these sessionsquotWhat makes a good mentor Here39s a quick checklist from BanfieldBe candid quotYou have to understand that everything that comes out of your mouth will likely be gobbled up A lot of people are sponges When they reach out to a mentor they have the desire to be better at what they doquotGive advice that keeps up with the times professionally and personally Media is changing so quickly Provide insights that relate to quotthe broader scope of the work we do as opposed to the myopic aspects of things we no longer doquotBe meticulous and charitable with your time quotCalculate the amount of information you can synthesize and pass on what will be helpfulquotDown the road Banfield intends to expand the quotRising Tidequot guest list to include TV executives and officials from other industries quotThere are so many people who want to help the next gen in this businessquot she saidWatch Jack Myers39 Legends ampamp Leaders conversation with Ashley Banfield hereClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Ashleigh Banfield Champions a "Rising Tide" of Mentoring

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Simon Applebaum

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Ashleigh Banfield Champions a "Rising Tide" of Mentoring

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