Journalism class does the time warp

[sportsguydave]

Found this on Romanesko. Interesting idea, and hopefully it gave the J-students a bit more appreciation for the tools they have at their disposal:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/141039/college-journalists-try-publishing-one-issue-without-computers/

Students at Florida Atlantic University are putting out their final summer issue on machinery that’s older than they are, reports Michael Koretzky. They’re writing their stories on manual typewriters and copyediting them in pencil. “They lay it all out with pica poles and proportion wheels. They paste it all up with X-Acto knives and rubber cement.” A few of the students have even dressed the part of ’70′s-era journalists, looking a little bit like Vinnie Barbarino.

 

[rmanfredi]

And much like 70s era journalists, they are ensuring that they make deadline by doing piles of coke in the office.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

And much like 70s era journalists, they are ensuring that they make deadline by doing piles of coke in the office.

They must have paid people at your paper better than they paid people at mine.

 

[SpeedTchr]

X-Acto knives? We had to use the edge of the table. Rich bastards.

 

[Turtle Wexler]

I think this is a fantastic idea. Journalism is journalism, regardless of the tools or the medium.

I'm grateful to be old enough that our high school yearbook was built with pica poles and blue sheets and grease cropping pencils, but young enough to be able to adapt to new technologies quickly. I feel like I learned the best of both worlds.

 

[Football_Bat]

I worked briefly at a paper that was still paste-up, although we had word-processing computers. This was only a dozen or so years ago, but it was quite an experience. We used the whole deal: pica poles, proportion wheels, blue pencils, dummy sheets. The paper had computers with Quark on them, but paginating was a firing offense.

Needless to say, the first chance I got to jump to a paper that paginated, I was gone.

 

[dirtybird]

Just a jump to the left?

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

If they didn't smoke in the newsroom and meet for beers after at the place, they did it wrong.

 

[rpmmutant]

How is this in any way productive? It's like teaching a mechanic how to fix a carburetor. It's a practically useless skill.

 

[HanSenSE]

Make 'em use phones with dials as well ...

 

[Oggiedoggie]

Meh.

We put the paper out every night with archaic technology.

We use CCI.

 

[spikechiquet]

How is this in any way productive? It's like teaching a mechanic how to fix a carburetor. It's a practically useless skill.

It never hurts to learn the history of your trade....

That said, I pray my boss doesn't get any ideas!

 

[baddecision]

In keeping with the "turn back the clock" theme, advertisers bought ads in the edition. Also, after it was printed, actual readers actually picked up the actual newspaper and actually read it.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

They did it for one issue, rpmmutant. What's the gripe? Would you call a trip to a museum a waste of time? This was interactive history. One issue. Done.

Pretty cool, I think.

 

[rpmmutant]

Not really a gripe. It's like learning how to develop film. It's a fruitless endeavor, even though it's a cool process.

 

[Johnny Dangerously]

Eh. I think there are hidden fruits in all labor, but especially such as this. Agree to disagree.

 

[SixToe]

When the Interwebz gets turned off and newspapers become, well, newspapers again, those kids will have a leg up and know not to stick their fingertips in the hot wax roller.

 

[Bob Slydell]

X-Acto knives? We had to use the edge of the table. Rich bastards.

I hated those things. had to may cuts on my fingers. I'll take the computer. Kind of a neat idea though.

 

[fossywriter8]

Found this on Romanesko. Interesting idea, and hopefully it gave the J-students a bit more appreciation for the tools they have at their disposal:

http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/romenesko/141039/college-journalists-try-publishing-one-issue-without-computers/

Students at Florida Atlantic University are putting out their final summer issue on machinery that’s older than they are, reports Michael Koretzky. They’re writing their stories on manual typewriters and copyediting them in pencil. “They lay it all out with pica poles and proportion wheels. They paste it all up with X-Acto knives and rubber cement.” A few of the students have even dressed the part of ’70′s-era journalists, looking a little bit like Vinnie Barbarino.

Rubber cement? We used wax at my college paper and the two weeklies where I worked.
The second weekly switched to full pagination in the late 1990s. I'm sure the first weekly did to at some point, but it's a few states away and I haven't been in that newsroom for more than a decade.
But I digress.
Again, rubber cement?

 

[spikechiquet]

I hope a college radio station does this....wax trax and reel-to-reel with zebra tape!!