![David Schlesinger when he was Reuters' editor-in-chief. Photo: David Schlesinger](https://www.fcchk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/as-editor-in-chief-300x156.jpg)
David Schlesinger is the founder of Tripod Advisors
Previously: Journalist with Reuters for 25 years, rising to Editor-in-Chief and then Chairman, Thomas Reuters China
Now: Writer and consultant, still active in journalism and the media business
What made you want to work in media?
I needed to support my China habit! And while I dabbled in academia, one wise professor in graduate school pointed out that I liked closure – that feeling of finding something out, making a judgment and moving on (and of course academic work moves at a comparatively glacial pace!). So I became a news service journalist, trying on a minute-by-minute basis to make a sensible narrative out of the world’s chaos.
What has been a career high point?
An early highlight was being named Reuters China bureau chief — my academic interests and my new profession came together in an exciting and stimulating way. Then, when I became global Editor-in-Chief, it was an extraordinary high to lead an organisation of truly talented and brave people through difficult and challenging times.
And a career low point?
![David Schlesinger during his tenure as China bureau chief for Reuters. Photo: David Schlesinger](https://www.fcchk.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/as-China-bureau-chief-300x196.jpg)
My time in senior editorial roles coincided with an extremely bloody, deadly and terrifying time for journalism. Too many Reuters journalists died in Iraq, in Israel, in Thailand when I was responsible for the operation – their deaths were far too high a price to pay. The struggle to balance our need as reporters to bear witness and our vital need to stay safe is one we as a profession still haven’t solved.
What career advice would you give to your younger self?
You never can stop pushing – making that extra call, revising that one more time, asking that follow up question. I think that’s the kind of spirit that will survive all the technological and business challenges facing the profession and will always find a reward.