The Cole Digest, Jan. 4, 1995

Gentle Reader,

Last year, Bradley Koltz of the Essex County Newspapers in Beverly, Mass. self-published a book he called "Nextwaving: A Guide to Fourth Wave Publishing Systems and Beyond."

Koltz, the systems and production manager of this newspaper group that's a division of Ottaway Newspapers, had built Fourth Wave (read: off-the-shelf hardware, off-the-shelf software) systems at both the Beverly newspapers and at New England Business magazine. He had some specific ideas about how to build your own systems and felt obliged to print them.

The 120-page book takes the readers through Koltz' odyssey at both the magazine and the newspapers, with Koltz explaining at each step why he picked specific products and what compromises he had to make.

Koltz also provided a good set of definitions for "Fourth Wave" and the new term he's invented, "Nextwaving."

Here is the essence of Koltz "Fourth Wave" definition:

"*Open architecture of the system.

*Integration of previously independent systems and tasks."

His definition of his new term is a little longer:

"The Nextwave goes beyond using desktop tools to create print publishing systems: Nextwaving is building desktop systems with future growth in mind.

"They have a direction for that growth that anticipates future trends of communication, such as the merger of telephone, cable, TV, computers and even radio.

"Nextwave systems are platforms for communication that may include print today but expand into the many evolving areas of commercial communication. The Nextwave system leverages the efficiencies of the Fourth Wave toward these visions of the not-so-distant future.

"A Fourth Wave system, for example, generates a searchable archive for editors to use. A Nextwave system creates a similar archive, but with dial-in capabilities for the public. These are small, incremental steps, but ones that should be components of systems being built today.

"Competition in the future won't be between print publications as much as between various communications modes, and for ever-diminishing audience attention. The Nextwave system built today will be a powerful competitive advantage both today and tomorrow."

For any newspaper embarking upon the quest for a new publishing system in 1995, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of the Koltz book.

"Nextwaving: A Guide to Fourth Wave Publishing Systems and Beyond" is available from Bradley M. Koltz, P.O. Box 2616, South Hamilton, Mass. 01982 or e-mail at 71072.3723@compuserve.com@internet#.

***

For a future issue of THE COLE PAPERS, that sterling example of high-quality discussion about publishing technology, we'd be interested in hearing from newspapers that have telecommuters. That would be writers, copy editors or others who work exclusively (or mostly) from home. We're interested in tales of techno-nightmares (the static electricity at home blows the motherboard) and also of the reasons why -- and how -- workers were allowed a tether from the grip of the office coffee machine.

If you have stuff you'd like to share, please feel free to message Bill Woodruff, who's on-line e-mail is batnerd@aol.com@internet# or contact me directly.

Onward.

\dmc

[THE COLE DIGEST is written by consultant David M. Cole, editor and publisher of the industry newsletter THE COLE PAPERS. The DIGEST is made available to PressLink subscribers every Wednesday at no extra charge. Send comments by e-mail to cole@plink.geis.com. The COLE DIGEST is the property of The Cole Group, a California sole proprietorship. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The Cole Group is prohibited. Copyright (C) 1995, The Cole Group. Opinions expressed are those of The Cole Group, unless otherwise noted.

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