For more than 25 years, Paul Haven reported on global events and directed news coverage for The Associated Press. He spent the bulk of his career overseas, in charge of regions such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Spain and Latin America. He was used to high-pressure situations and managing hundreds of people.
In November 2021, he became AP’s vice president and head of global newsgathering, overseeing AP’s global staff of reporters, photographers and video journalists in nearly 250 locations worldwide. It was a level of responsibility that required recalibrating his approach to leadership, which is why he applied for Poynter’s Executive Leadership Summit last year.
He said it was a challenge to figure out how to balance big-picture strategy and day-to-day operations.
“You don’t want to be removed from the news, but you also have to understand that there are now other people whose primary role it is to drive it, and your job is to help them,” he said. “You have to figure out how to … set larger goals and a larger ethos for your news organization.”
Haven said that Poynter’s executive program helped him learn how to allocate his time sustainably and effectively — specifically the keynote from New York Times managing editor Marc Lacey and Haven’s one-on-one coaching with Poynter adjunct Cheryl Carpenter.
“I think the course helped me realize it’s better to see yourself as a coach. The course definitely helped me chill out a little bit about what my role is and embrace it.”
Beyond being proud of AP’s journalism – including two 2023 Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of the war in Ukraine — he said he’s excited about the cultural change that President and CEO Daisy Veerasingham and Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace have led in the last couple years. Haven said he’s never felt such a sense of dynamism at work.
“I pinch myself, and I can’t believe I’ve got this opportunity to play the role I’m playing, helping modernize this company, which is like a giant battleship. And we’re moving it.”
Do you set the tone and vision for your newsroom as a senior-level leader? Poynter’s Executive Leadership Summit will help you recalibrate your approach so you can be more sustainable, effective and ambitious. Apply now.