The Tennesseans Newsroom Intranet

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NewsSpot

• The Tennesseans Newsroom Intranet

David DwigginsSystems Editor/Library ManagerThe
Tennessean615-259-8332ddwiggins_at_tennessean.com
SLA Convention, Nashville, TNJune 8, 2004
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About NewsSpot

• Focus of most internal communication
• Just celebrated its 3rd birthday

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Design Goals

• Clean, fast loading design
• Allow non-technical users to create/edit content
• Build in workflow applications, not just static
  information.
• Offer personalization by sign on

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Technology

• The art of the possible
• Use what your company knows and can support
• Nothing wrong with mixing and matching

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What we use

• Primary platform
• ASP
• SQL Server
• Other technologies
• PHP
• MySQL
• Perl
• Filemaker
• Proprietary Applications

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Desktop icon for newsroom staff
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Allowing users to enter their own content

• Helps keep content up to date by reducing the
  gearhead factor
• Using forms and a database creates structured
  information with consistent metadata
• Validation is possible
• Data can be repurposed

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NewsSpot Content Entry Form
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Access to Information Services

• Commercial database services
• LexisNexis
• Accurint
• Facts on File Reference Suite
• Free Internet Resources
• CIA World Fact Book
• Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
• Site of the day
• Internal archives and databases

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Tennessean Archives Search
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Archive Search Results
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Story retrieved from archive
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Tennessean Headline Index
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PDF Listing
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PDF Page
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Scanned Microfilm Most Sensational, Thrilling,
Death Defying Event Ever Shown In Your City
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Capturing Organizational Knowledge

• Intranet can help unify a large organization
  revealing hidden expertise
• Intranet can provide continuity between
  generations of employees

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Newsroom Expertise Page
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Cops Shift Handbook
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SourceSpot Front
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Source Profile
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Focus Group Report Output
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Policies
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The Unofficial, Unauthorized History of The
Tennessean
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Who worked here Al Gore
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Personalization

• Goal is to provide relevant, personalized
  information to the user

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Help Desk
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Workflow Applications

• Creates a centralized place for all paperwork
  associated with the operation of the newsroom
• Moving (slowly) toward the mythical paper-free
  office

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Mileage Report
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Correction Report
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Correction Report (showing web and actions)
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TennTrain Front
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TennTrain Signup
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Increasing Communication

• Person-to-person
• Within teams
• Between departments

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Remodel Front
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Workflow Team Homepage
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Coordinating data entry

• Intranets can give teams collaborative access to
  data
• Allows for rapid coordination of large projects
  without creating mountains of paper

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PrepsFactory

• Intranet-based high school sports system
  co-developed with the Greenville News.
• Allows us to have complete game stats online
  before people get home from the game.
• Makes it much easier to compile complete stats
  for print

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You dont need a lot of money

• PrepsFactory has been running on a souped-up
  desktop PC for more than two years, and hasnt
  been rebooted in over a year.
• Developed using free software Linux, PHP, MySQL.
• Primary investment is the time to build and
  maintain the system.

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Short-Term Projects

• Intranet isnt just for long-term contentFor
  example

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The Tennessean, Sept 26, 2003
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The dreaded 830 PM call

• We need a way to coordinate the work of a bunch
  of reporters theyre starting tomorrow morning
• Plan was to contact every nursing home, hospital,
  dorm, etc. to see which places had sprinklers in
  place.
• Needed a database to track calls and responses

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Filemaker Pro to the Rescue

• Instant web publishing allowed creation of a
  web-enabled database literally overnight.

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The Tennessean, Oct. 2, 2003
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Whats next?

• PlanSpot the complete newsroom planning tool
• Developed over the last several years, but final
  push came from remodel teams.

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PlanSpot Front
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PlanSpot New Package
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PlanSpot Bar Chart Request
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PlanSpot Package Profile with Comment
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Challenges

• Keeping content updated
• Need to know who owns content, and make sure
  that they are actually maintaining it.
• Feature Creep
• Everyone has some pet project they think should
  be on the intranet.
• Some pet projects have been built and have been
  proven to be duds.

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Challenges

• Maintaining coherent navigation as site grows
• Building the right team
• Need a mix of designers, techies, information
  professionals, and end users.

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NewsSpot

• The Tennesseans Newsroom Intranet

David DwigginsSystems Editor/Library ManagerThe
Tennessean615-259-8332ddwiggins_at_tennessean.com
SLA Convention, Nashville, TNJune 8, 2004