www.newsandtech.com www.newsandtech.com May/June 2020 The premier resource for insight, analysis and technology integration in newspaper and hybrid operations and production. 500-plus contribute to Community Impact Newspaper’s Patron program u NEWS & TECH STAFF REPORT Lauren Itz Community Impact Newspaper’s headquarters in Pflugerville, Texas. More than 500 people have contributed to Community Impact Newspa- CI announced that longtime employee and Community Relations Manager per’s new Community Impact Patron Program. Lauren Itz will run the CI Patron program, with the aim of the program becoming By early May, the program, launched on April 1, garnered close to $50,000 a strategy for readers to connect with the company in a more meaningful way. in contributions for the Texas-based company. “We see the Community Impact Patron Program as a long-term connection CI co-owner/founder John Garrett announced that 100% of CI Patron con- tool between our local journalism efforts and our local readers. We promise tributions after processing costs will go to the locally based journalists who to use the funds to keep the great local journalism coming. The support means produce CI content. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic sped the timing of the world to our employees,” Garrett said. the initiative, which helps achieve a three-year company goal to have indus- Garrett has plans to include early supporters in a new CI Patron Founding try-leading compensation for its journalists, the company says. Community Impact Newspaper continues on page 5 Puzzle platform reinforces reader relationships for LA Times u BY TARA MCMEEKIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER If you’re a crossword fan, chances are you’ve word at some point. The puzzle is one of the most the San Diego Union-Tribune and LA Times En Es- attempted to tackle the Los Angeles Times cross- iconic in publishing, appearing in more than 200 pañol from Chicago-based Tronc (now Tribune out-of-market titles. Publishing) in a deal valued at $500 million. For years, the Times’ various “The Soon-Shiongs have been wonderful stew- puzzle offerings served as a valu- ards of our business and we’ve taken back own- able connection point with read- ership of things that were previously managed Turn to ers. But those relationships suf- and outsourced by Tronc, including games and fered over the past decade or so puzzles,” Vice President of Business Development page 25 as the paper cycled through bank- Lee Fentress told News & Tech. “We endeavored for expanded ruptcy and ownership changes. to not only take back ownership of the puzzles But the Times’ latest transfer of section, but more importantly, the relationship industry ownership is changing that. In June with the user.” 2018, biotech billionaire Patrick To bolster its puzzle offerings, the Times part- coverage Soon-Shiong purchased the Times, LA Times continues on page 6 News & Tech May/June 2020 u 1 www.newsandtech.com — Let’s write the future. With retrofit solutions that give your press another ten years of life. ABB’s retrofit solutions for newspaper presses will extend the productive life of your press, improve print quality, reduce waste and improve efficiency — for a fraction of the cost of a new press. Worried about the availability of spare parts for your existing controls? With an ABB retrofit you know that spares will be available worldwide for ten to fifteen years. Whether looking for replacement drives, new controls, conversion to shaftless or a complete press reconfiguration, ABB has the right solution for you. The key to the future of your printing business lies with ABB. www.abb.com/printing 2 t May/June 2020 News & Tech ABB-Ad_Newsandtech_228x276_a.indd 1 21.07.2017 07:51:57 www.newsandtech.com Newspapers change operations in face of pandemic u BY TARA MCMEEKIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER Newspapers are certainly no strangers to navigating change. Now pub- believe that will be the case until there is a vaccine.” lishers are once again showing their resiliency as they’re forced to quickly Owen said the biggest takeaway from this experience has been to be nim- adapt to a new landscape in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. ble and move quickly to execute plans. Since March, newspapers have made quick transitions to take operations “Things can change in a heartbeat,” she added. remote where possible and put plans in place to reduce risk to essential on- site employees, including pressroom and mailroom staff. Software key at WaPo The Las Vegas Review-Journal, which counts roughly 400 employees, has The Washington Post’s COVID-19 response has been similar, with the major- implemented a mix of remote and onsite working, according to Vice Presi- ity of office-based staff working remotely since March 10. On the production dent of Production Janet Owen. While a number of advertising and news- side, the publisher said most of its printing and distribution staff continues room employees have been able to work remotely from home, Owen said to operate onsite. The Post put substantive safety measures in place, includ- not all were set up to do so. ing daily temperature screenings, social distancing protocols, mask require- “For the people that didn’t have the facilities they needed at home, we ments, frequent hand washing and other sanitization measures. restructured to half days, three days a week,” Owen told News & Tech. “With “Our top focus is employee safety,” said CIO Shailesh Prakash. “We have the exception of creative services, all of our production staff have continued taken significant steps as a company to prioritize and preserve employee to work this whole time.” safety and will continue to do so.” The biggest challenge initially was equipping employees who weren’t fa- The Post also touts its publishing platform and other software tools for miliar with VPN to work from home, but Owen said the Review-Journal’s IT enabling robust remote-based operations. group worked hard to get them up and running. “Our investments in Arc Publishing, which is a modern, cloud-based sys- On the production side, the publisher has split its pressroom in half. Owen tem, have been advantageous during this time,” Prakash said. “It spans the said schedules were changed and people were assigned to specific presses. entire arc of a publisher’s needs, from story planning, to content creation, to “We have presses A and B and their crews,” Owen said. “In the event that rendering, on multiple platforms and has allowed our talented journalists to a B press crew member gets sick, we would quarantine the whole crew if we work from the safety of their homes.” had to and crew A would take over all production.” Arc integrates with other collaborative apps like Slack, which Prakash said A similar plan was put in place in mailroom where the equipment has has enabled complex tasks such as homepage creation to “maintain the high been split in half. quality that readers expect from The Washington Post.” “Inserting machines are tied to each press crew so if anyone gets sick we Prakash also pointed to the benefits of Zoom, Webex, Skype and Microsoft would only lose half the crew, which wouldn’t be ideal, but with advertising Teams. page counts down, we would be OK,” Owen said. “(These) have also kept our distributed workforce connected and produc- At deadline, the Review-Journal planned to begin bringing more employ- tive,” he said. “On top of that, every critical system has inbuilt redundancy, ees back on May 26, while adhering to six feet of social distancing and which helps reduce downtime and keep systems performant.” p diligent sanitization and safety measures. Owen said the fact that there are several different entry points to the building has made isolation of groups easier. For example, the plateroom has its own dedicated entry so those How has your operation responded to the coronavirus pandemic? employees don’t have to comingle with other staff. News & Tech would love to hear from you! “For our press crews, we will keep the changes in place,” Owen said. “I — What to expect from Gen Z u NEWS & TECH STAFF REPORT Let’s write the future. The Pew Research Center has put out a profile of Gen Zers (ages 18 to progressive and pro-government, most see America’s increasing racial and 23). “On the Cusp of Adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We ethnic diversity as a positive, and they’re less likely than older generations Know About Gen Z So Far,” published May 14, offers a rundown of what we to see the U.S. as superior to other countries. With retrofit solutions that give your can expect from this up-and-coming group. The report points out that Gen • Maybe because they’re more likely to be involved in educational pursuits, Z was set to stride into a strong economy but is now looking at an uncertain Gen Zers are less likely to be working than earlier generations when they future due to the coronavirus pandemic. News & Tech culled out some facts were teens and young adults. Only 18% of Gen Z teens (ages 15 to 17) were press another ten years of life. that are of interest to newspapers, magazines and other media as well as the working in 2018, compared with 27% of Millennial teens in 2002 and 41% companies who serve those industries. of Gen Xers in 1986. And among young adults ages 18 to 22, while 62% of • One-in-ten eligible voters in the 2020 election will be Generation Zers. Gen Zers were employed in 2018, higher shares of Millennials (71%) and • Gen Zers are more racially and ethnically diverse than any earlier genera- Gen Xers (79%) were employed when they were a similar age.