In 1990 The Arizona Republic celebrated its 100 years — its centennial. There were many different projects that I had role in editing and/or coordinating. It was a once in a lifetime project. One of the projects involved a full page timeline [called “Paper Route”] of how a story is reported, written and edited. In addition, how do photographers and others in the newsroom work to create the still ‘daily miracle.’
“Newspapers” Items
Future of Design Survey. What 2020 Looks Like in 1999
This is a copy of a presentation I did at the American Press Institute in 1999 for a seminar about the future of newspaper design. We looked at the future of design in 20 years.
Pagination and a Look Into the Future of Newspapers
In 1999 I was asked to contribute to a book about pagination being published by the Society of News Design and the Association of News Editors. You can download the entire book from here.
At the end of the article I made some “bolder, out-on-a-limb” predictions:
- Design as a unique job function in newspapers will slowly dissolve into other editing responsibilities.
- Editing will encompass more than the technical aspects of copy editing and take on more responsibilities for the entire infopacks.
- Computers will automatically handle most of the routine production responsibilities, freeing editors to do lust what we have always wanted them to do – make journalistic choices on behalf of their readers and the community.
- Most, if not all, maps and charts will be produced by software. There will be fewer artists at newspapers doing “art work.”
- The presentation of information will be of such importance for the organization that the senior editor with such responsibilities will report to the publisher.
I like my final paragraph:
Newspapers are on the verge of freeing themselves from the limitations of their production equipment. While I would not predict the end of newsprint as we know it, the era of print-centric delivery is coming to an end. We need to look beyond technology to find the solutions to organize and motivate our workforce for the new millennium. If we are successful, this is the last pagination book you will ever read.
How Consumers Spend Their Media Day
How consumers use media has always been an interesting topic. However, it never really got the attention of those at the top of newspaper organizations. One of the better studies was this one:
The Center for Media Design at Ball State University conducted the Middletown Media Studies in 2003-2004. These investigations tracked the ways in which ordinary Americans residing in and around Muncie engage with the many new forms of media available in the twentieth century. More details are available in the CMD Reports and White Papers listing.
Here’s a copy of a paper about the study in the International Digital Media & Arts Association Journalism from Spring 2004.
Here’s a link to Ball State’s documents about the project.
Notes on Tribune Future, 1975
I wrote a memo about the future of the Chicago Tribune. It was part of a task force looking to redo the paper.
SND’s First Convention: My First Speech
The Society of News Design [at that point the group was called Newspaper Designers of America] held its first convention. It was in Chicago, at the Tribune, Sept. 29-30, 1979. I held the newly created job of graphics editor [at that time it was titled graphics coordinator] at the newspaper. It was a new type of job, as I was an editor, not an artist. I worked closely with the art department to create informational graphics for the daily and Sunday pages. Tony Majeri, a founding member of the Society, invited me to describe my job to the 150 members at the convention.
The first edition of Design magazine ran my speech as an article. I still wish I had a chance to be more inclusive in my presentation. However, it does give readers an indication of the work the Tribune was doing at the time.
Here’s a link to an excerpt [PDF] of Design magazine that has two articles about the 1979 SND convention:
https://www.digitalfuturist.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/designmagazine_03_1980.pdf
Techno-Evangelism: Thoughts for Newsroom Leaders
Dealing with technology at The Arizona Republic, especially the introduction of new computer systems, led to a number of presentations about what I called “techno-evangelism.” I wanted newspaper managers to pay more attention to technology and its impact upon their staff members and workflow.
Some of my key ideas, from a talk given at the Society of Newspaper Design’s 1993 convention in Dallas, were these five points:
1. Technology is an ecological issue. By itself, technology adds nothing. Its introduction changes everything.
2. A newsroom learns by example. If a newsroom manager isn’t willing to invest time or energy in understanding technology, don’t expect the staff to care.
3. The key issue about technology isn’t hardware or even software. It’s workflow. Understand the how work moves (or how you want it to move) through the newspaper and you’ll understand what technological solutions you’ll need.
4. Techno-evangelism means finding a leader who will take risks, become a teacher, shoulder responsibilities and be willing to go wandering in the “desert.”
5. Looking at history can help prepare you for the future. Understanding when there is a “paradigm” shift is important; knowing when there isn’t is even more important. Going from hot type to cold type is evolutionary; going digital is revolutionary.
I also handed out a technology adoption quiz. Taking the quiz would identify whether you are a techno-phobe, a techno-boomer, a techno-to-go or a techno-wizard.
The slides from the presentation are here.
Journalism Should Give Voice to the Voiceless
As part of the development of The Poynter Institute’s international strategy, I traveled to Istanbul with colleague and friend Vicki Krueger. We launched Poynter NewsU Turkiye at a news conference. At that event was our partner, the Media Association, and the US Consulate in Istanbul. The Consulate is the funder for the project. After the news conference I was interviewed by the local English-language newspaper, Sunday’s Zaman. Here’s part of what they wrote:
According to Finberg, journalism means “providing voice to the voiceless” and is a way of helping people understand what is going on around them. “Journalists are responsible for protecting the interest of the audience, citizens,” Finberg said when asked whether the journalists have a duty to protect state interests.
Journalists in Turkey have a difficult time, as the country is undergoing political stress and strain that often pits one media organization against another.
The full interview is on the newspaper’s Website , or at least it was. Better to access it as a PDF.
Newspaper Training Days: It’s About the Learning
Shortly after the launch of Poynter’s e-learning platform, News University, I was interviewed by the Newspaper Association of America’s monthly magazine, Presstime. The author, Teddi Dineley Johnson, used the 2002 Knight Foundation survey about training, as a way to explore how various organizations are dealing with training issues.
In an industry that prides itself on breaking the big story, newspaper executives were caught by surprise three years ago when a landmark study found that lack of training was the No. 1 source of job dissatisfaction–ahead of salary and benefits–among U.S. journalists.
Data from this survey actually helped me figure out the direction of NewsU and its conclusions were supported by Poynter’s own research on the topic.
Here’s what I had to say about training:
“It’s all about getting smarter,” Finberg says. “It’s not about a grade, not about an application, not about a certificate. It’s about learning and, ideally, the kind of learning that’s important to your job.”
Some interesting historical notes:
* There were lots of references to the American Press Institute’s training programs. API has evolved into more of a ‘think tank’ and no longer does traditional seminars.
* NewsU stats: 4,500 users; as of early 2014 there are more than 280,000 users.
* NAA’s online training efforts at naauniversity.org is gone.
Such is the evolving nature of training for the newspaper industry.
Chicago Tribune Launches Graphics Service
The launch of the Chicago Tribune Graphics Service [CTGS] provided an opportunity to learn about customer service and satisfaction. With real money on the line and a desire to grow the number of clients, thinking beyond the Tribune’s own graphics propelled me into a touch of entrepreneurial journalism. It was my first “start-up” experience.
The graphic service is sold to daily newspapers across the country. The graphics all are illustrations that appeared in the Tribune, They are sold through the Tribune Company Syndicate lnc. (formerly the Chicago Tribune-New York News).
Each week we would select 12 to 20 graphics that would be printed on slick paper that aided reproduction and express mailed to clients. In the first nine months of the service, the newspaper and the syndicate split $60,000 in revenue [$150,000 in 2013].
The in-house publication of the Tribune, the Little Trib, did a nice story about the CTGS. I liked how they named the graphics desk staff.
But the early success came from hard work — from all those involved in the service: in the city newsroom, Finberg, Kathleen Naureckas, day graphics coordinator, and Marty Fischer, night graphics coordinator, now had to consider not only which graphics would be best for the Tribune, but also be alert to which graphics should go into the package to subscribers.