The modern era
Since World War II, there have been radical changes
in newspaper production on a par with those brought by
the Industrial Revolution. Electronic technology has
revolutionized the ways in which newspapers are written,
edited, and printed, while radio and television have
developed into serious competitors as sources of news,
official information, and entertainment and as a vehicle
for advertising.
Technological developments
Computers and telecommunications have transformed the
production process for the modern newspaper. They have
also led to changes in the quality of the newspaper
itself, but their real impact has been on the finances
of the newspaper industry and on the relevance of the
traditional print workers. One of the first signs of
technology's potential for change came in the 1930s,
when Walter Morey developed the Teletypesetter (first
demonstrated in 1928). This machine was an improvement
on the telegraph, which was widely used by reporters in
the field and by the wire services, such as Reuters and
Associated Press, to send news items in draft form to
editorial offices miles away. With the Teletypesetter,
the impulses sent over the wire included encoded
instructions to Linotype machines. The machines could
then decode the instructions and automatically prepare
whole pages ready for printing. It was therefore
envisaged that the reporter would have the facility for
"direct input" into the printing room, which
would eliminate the need for retyping by a Linotype
operator and thus save newspapers both time and money.
But direct input had to await the development of
sophisticated computers and computer programs,
which did not materialize until after World War II. In
1946 the first techniques of photocomposition were
developed. With this method of typesetting, the images
of pages are prepared for the printer photographically,
as on a photocopier, instead of in lines of metal type.
The new method was introduced gradually in newspapers,
where the Linotype machines had worked well enough for
more than half a century and where union opposition to
the new technology was deeply entrenched. Technological
advances were accelerated in the 1970s, introducing
computers and computer programs that were
tailor-made for the newspaper publisher, and many
newspaper companies replaced their 19th-century printing
systems with the new technology almost overnight.
In a modern newspaper office each journalist has a
desktop terminal--i.e., a keyboard and a visual
display screen connected to the main computer.
The visual display shows the current article or, in the
case of a copy editor, the whole of the page being
composed from various articles and pictures. While
writing, the reporter can retrieve information stored in
the computer, such as any previous articles on
the same subject, which can be displayed on the screen
alongside the new copy. This split-screen technology
also allows the copy editor to move copy around the
screen on special page-layout terminals until the copy
fits the page. Once it is ready, a push of a button
sends the complete page to the main computer for
eventual transformation into an aluminum printing plate.
By this direct-input process the production of a page
of news is accelerated. But the new technology can serve
other production purposes. On some papers it is possible
for an advertiser to send copy via the telephone to the
newspaper office, where the computer
automatically finds a suitable space for it and
transmits it to the copy editor's screen. The reporter
in the field, equipped with a portable terminal, can
also input a story to the newspaper's computer
directly and can gain access to the computer's
library of information in the same way. If necessary,
the editor can discuss the article with the reporter
over the telephone as they both look at it on their
screens. Similarly, items from press agencies can be
located instantly; these may be transmitted to the computer
terminal via cables or over the air by satellite,
enabling news to reach the other side of the world
within minutes. The electronic transmission of whole
pages of news between remote locations also means that
the printing plant does not have to be situated near the
editorial offices. This can decrease real estate or
rental costs, and it allows simultaneous editions of the
same newspaper to be printed in different cities and
even on different continents, an advantage that has been
exploited by the British-based Financial Times
and U.S.-based Wall Street Journal.
Abtex
Computer Leasing - Offers leasing programs for new and used
computer equipment financing.
E + K Computer -
Angebotspräsentation und Vorstellung der Services. Verkauft
werden PCs und Zubehör.
The River - An open,
self-governing computer conferencing system. Includes general
company information.
Gatz-Computer
- Onlineshop mit einer Übersicht und Informationen zu
Netzwerktechnik, Hardware- und Software sowie PC-Komplettsystemen,
Zubehör und Kabel.
Yoshimasa Electronic Inc. -
Computer based sound measurement equipment and software for
analysis of the results.
Seniornet - Nation wide
organization offering computer education for seniors at many
locations.
Retech Asset
Recovery Services - Retech Asset Recovery provides worldwide
sales and marketing services for disposal of end of life
computer assets.
|