The session "Networks and Newspapers" held Tuesday, June 18, the point was made that networks have become critical ... wow, this was the tone-setter.
The four male panelists and male moderator underscored the fact that systems offices at newspapers are still a male bailiwick ... not that females are unwelcome, but that few women want these rather thankless jobs.
The four panelists were David Rosenberg of the Belleville, (Ill.) News-Democrat, Daniel Lenerville of the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader, Mel Caswell of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader and Ronald Smoak of the Atlanta Journal & Constitution. Smoak's boss, Edward Baer, director of computer services at the Journal & Constitution, was the moderator. This was a workshop about management issues, not a technical session.
The concepts stressed were pretty simplistic. All the panelists were all in agreement that networks were breaking down traditional newspaper jobs and cultures, and that network issues cut across all sizes of papers. And that if you didn't have a network by now, you were way behind the curve.
Other nuggets were: Back up your data. Train your employees. There is no way to paginate a paper without a network. Change passwords often. Worry daily about networking. Connect everything you can. A gradual approach to networking is OK. Don't try to cut corners in network wiring.
On balance, the speakers made a compelling case for something very obvious. Maybe it was good for top managers to hear someone other than their systems gurus hammering home the same obvious points about the value of training and the necessity for quality wiring in the building and the such. Assuming that well-managed newspapers already know these things, this workshop wound up more like a verification of what network managers at newspapers already know -- in spades.
-- George Powell
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