AGE:35
POSITION: Managing editor, East Bay Newspapers weeklies
RESIDENCE: Bristol
LIFELONG AMBITION: To be a better person (“and I’ve got a lot of work to do”)
FAVORITE BOOKS: “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, by J.R.R. Tolkien
GUILTY PLEASURE: Floating in the pool with a cold beer and a good book
It’s supposed to be a newspaper editor’s job to catch mistakes. But Scott Pickering will tell you he wouldn’t be where he is today without making his fair share.
As a self-described inexperienced 24-year-old, Pickering was tapped by East Bay Newspapers publisher Matthey Hayes to run the company’s weekly newspapers 11 years ago.
As managing editor, he has consistently worked 60-plus hour weeks and made “1,001 mistakes.” But the experience taught him how to learn the hard way – “by falling down and getting back up.”
He has also worked to maintain the paper’s quality at a time when newspapers have seen their market share decline, and his own publications have made cuts and laid off staff. However, despite the hardships, Pickering’s perseverance has paid off.
While at East Bay Newspapers, he has led the news staff through a period of growth, expanding from five papers to nine in three years. He now heads a staff of 30 people in five locations. His papers have won an array of Rhode Island and New England press awards. In addition, working with internationally known newspaper designer Ron Reason, Pickering steered the company through a complete overhaul of its publications in 2003.
Pickering is also vice president of the Rhode Island Press Association and oversees the group’s annual contest, soliciting and processing nearly 600 submissions each year, shipping them off to the outside judges and notifying each of the winners.
He also creates a slide show and awards presentation for the more than 100 people who attend the association’s annual dinner.
Even with his long list of professional accomplishments over the past decade, Pickering said that it was only recently that he met the most inspiring person in his – his first son, Joshua. Now 3 years old, Joshua provided Pickering with an opportunity to reassess what’s important in life. His birth caused changes for the better, Pickering said, forcing him to make it home for dinner on time and slow down on weekends.
“I became a better person because I was no longer the most important person in my life,” Pickering said. “My wife and I now have two young sons, and thanks to them, I believe I’m a better manager and a better person.”
