I don't consider myself a dinosaur in this business, but I got a reminder this week of just how much things have changed since I started working at newspapers.
We've been experiencing some major computer system problems in the past few days, and as a result, we've had to put the newspaper together with limited use of many of the technologically oriented tools we depend on most days.
Internet and e-mail access have become essential to putting together a newspaper. From the photos we get from the Associated Press to the press releases we receive from the state police, so much of our content comes to us through our online connection.
Unfortunately, there have been some times in recent days - including all of Sunday night - when our Internet service was working exclusively on just a couple of machines in the building.
On Monday morning, I was having people take turns checking their e-mail on one of those machines when it hit me - this is what it was like when I started as a reporter a little more than a decade ago.
At the first two newspapers where I worked, the Internet was emerging as a useful information-gathering and communication tool, but many newsrooms were not wired to take advantage of it. At these two papers, there were a few “Internet computers” scattered around the building where we could spend some time doing research and perhaps sending an e-mail.
When I arrived at the Times Union in Albany in the fall of 2002, I remember the luxurious feeling that came from discovering that I had Internet access on my personal computer. What a treat it was to be able to fire off a quick e-mail to a source without having to walk to another section of the building and see if anyone was using the “Internet computer.”
Now, I take those items for granted - or at least I did until a few days ago.
And that leads me to my final point - thanking the IT staff here at The Citizen.
You won't read their names in the paper, but a big reason we're able to do our jobs is because of the hard work of Jeffrey Whiting, David Nedza and Dale Conover.
It's yet another example of how producing a newspaper in one of the greatest exercises in teamwork you'll ever see.
Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Tuesdays in
The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net
Internet and e-mail access have become essential to putting together a newspaper. From the photos we get from the Associated Press to the press releases we receive from the state police, so much of our content comes to us through our online connection.
Unfortunately, there have been some times in recent days - including all of Sunday night - when our Internet service was working exclusively on just a couple of machines in the building.
On Monday morning, I was having people take turns checking their e-mail on one of those machines when it hit me - this is what it was like when I started as a reporter a little more than a decade ago.
At the first two newspapers where I worked, the Internet was emerging as a useful information-gathering and communication tool, but many newsrooms were not wired to take advantage of it. At these two papers, there were a few “Internet computers” scattered around the building where we could spend some time doing research and perhaps sending an e-mail.
When I arrived at the Times Union in Albany in the fall of 2002, I remember the luxurious feeling that came from discovering that I had Internet access on my personal computer. What a treat it was to be able to fire off a quick e-mail to a source without having to walk to another section of the building and see if anyone was using the “Internet computer.”
Now, I take those items for granted - or at least I did until a few days ago.
And that leads me to my final point - thanking the IT staff here at The Citizen.
You won't read their names in the paper, but a big reason we're able to do our jobs is because of the hard work of Jeffrey Whiting, David Nedza and Dale Conover.
It's yet another example of how producing a newspaper in one of the greatest exercises in teamwork you'll ever see.
Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Tuesdays in
The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net
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