The Cole Digest, October 4, 1995

We've been talking about pagination recently (who hasn't?) and I thought we should bring a little humor to the discussion.

If David Letterman cared about pagination, consultant Neil Chase could provide the Late Show a Top 10 list.

The head of Chase Publishing in Arlington Heights, Ill. and an assistant professor in the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University of Evanston, Ill., Chase has brought his 10 best reasons for paginating to workshops and seminars on pagination and workflow.

I herewith give you Chase's Top 10 Reasons To Paginate:

No. 10: Quality. There are fewer production steps in pagination, which means fewer places for mistakes to happen. News, photos and ads can all be given later deadlines, because there are fewer production steps to eat up time.

No. 9: Attitudes. Many newsroom employees are frustrated with the old system. Surprise! They like the new system and what it can do for them. As long as management takes care in implementing the system, the workers will be happier than they were before pagination.

No. 8: Workflow correction. Many older systems inspired creation of Byzantine workflows; newer systems can fix those problems. You shouldn't let computers tell you how to run your newsroom -- or, maybe you should: Take advantage of what a new system can provide.

No. 7: You're already there. If you're putting out TV books, weekend sections or feature covers on a Mac or a PC, you're already paginating. You can sneak pagination past reluctant executives by calling it "electronic TV listings," or implement it in sections with small staffs.

No. 6: Content. Though paginated newspaper staffs concentrate at first on the technology, it's easy to shift that focus back to content after pagination has become old hat, especially if someone on the staff concentrates on content.

No. 5: Skilled work force. It's easier now than ever to find a kid right out of college who knows a lot about Quark XPress. It's easier to train people on desktop computers than it was to train them on proprietary terminals.

No. 4: Keep up with Ma Bell. If the phone companies are selling news, should we sell phone jacks? No, but we need to compete with these guys, and having all your content in one place (on a paginated page) makes new media options much easier.

No. 3: Better sources. A fully digital newspaper has more ways to take in advertising, has more ways to hear from readers and has more ways to do research and reporting.

No. 2: New toys. A paginated newspaper can support toys like digital cameras, fax modems and the transmission of pictures or stories from the front seat of a moving vehicle.

And the No. 1 reason to paginate:

The Internet. It's where readers are now and where they will be in the future. There is money being made on the Internet, and an easy way for you to be there too is to have a paginated paper.

Thanks Neil ... have you thought of a career in pre-press humor?

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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