WHEELING — It takes an entire team to publish a daily newspaper, and three women are key players when it comes to producing The Intelligencer, The Times Leader and the Wheeling News-Register.

Working together with their male counterparts, these women — Pam Bennett and Shellie Higgins, advertising director and classified/inside sales manager respectively of The Intelligencer, Wheeling News-Register, The Times Leader, Herald Star and Weirton Daily Times and Jennifer Compston-Strough, managing editor of The Times Leader — pull together the many moving parts that go into a daily edition.

With the complexities of such an operation in mind, Higgins offered the following advice for any young woman or girl who might be interested in entering the field: “Understanding the roles that each department plays in a final, successful product, it’s important to expand your focus to learn from everyone who is willing to teach you — not only those in advertising, but production, accounting, layout, editorial. It really does take a huge team effort.”

Bennett agreed that learning and working in various roles in a news operation is key to understanding how to build a complete product.

“I have been fortunate to have been with this company for 30 years in several different capacities. … I started my career as a part-time telemarketing sales rep. … I eventually was offered a full time, outside sales rep position, giving me a much better understanding of advertisers’ needs,” she said.

“… The exciting thing about a newspaper sales position is knowing it is constantly evolving and it is never the same day after day.”

On the news side of the operation, Compston-Strough said curiosity and a passion for learning and sharing information are key to the job.

“Be aware that while news reporting can be a lot of fun, you will also encounter tough topics and situations,” she said. “Approach each of them without forming your own opinion first; gather the facts and report them.”

Being a good listener is also crucial in the newspaper industry, regardless of whether you are trying to sell advertising or if you are reporting the news of the day. All three women agreed that listening carefully is the best way to ensure you can meet the needs of customers and readers alike.

“I think one of the most valuable lessons that I’ve learned is to always ask questions and to listen to the answers, not listen to respond,” Higgins said. “Whether you are working with staff members or speaking with a customer, train yourself to be quiet after asking a question then you can process their answer before responding.”

All three women have had long careers with the local newspapers — and all can remember when they knew they had found their calling.

Higgins, who has been with the company for 33 years, said her love of print media goes all the way back to her high school publications’ staff.

“My heart, apparently, insisted on being a part of the industry,” she said. “I started part-time in classified. After a few months, an opportunity arose to learn about legal advertising as well as working with retail advertising representatives, and it just seemed to snowball from there. I think I’ve always known this was my calling.”

For Bennett, a 30-year veteran, the turning point came when she started working as an outside sales representative.

“The advertising director and sales staff at that time were all very supportive and made the job a lot of fun,” she said. “It was also a different time in our industry where there were no cellphones or computers. We built business relationships by meeting with our accounts regularly.”

The relative newcomer, Compston-Strough has been with the company for more than 20 years. She realized very early on that the job was one in which she could make a difference.

“During my first week as a reporter, I wrote a story about breast cancer awareness,” she said. “While it seemed pretty standard, the woman training me said, ‘You might have just saved someone’s life with that story.’ From that moment on I was hooked, because I knew what I was doing really mattered.”

The trio agreed that over their years with the company, they have seen more women move into leadership positions in various departments, just as they have in a wide variety of industries.

They also agree that living and working in the Ohio Valley is an experience unlike any other.

“Ohio Valley residents have a remarkable sense of community,” Higgins pointed out. “While this isn’t unique to only this area, I think it’s the heart of the people living here that makes the difference.”