New E-Tools Replace the Old

Out with the old, in with the new.

That seems to be the way newsrooms are embracing new information-gathering technologies like the Internet, now rapidly supplanting earlier electronic tools like CD-ROMs and commercial database services, according to a recent TechNews survey.

A full three-quarters--76 percent--of the 122 newspapers responding to TechNews' fax poll have some or all newsroom employees connected to Internet e-mail. Some 71 percent of respondents, representing newspapers big and small, offer editorial staffers access to the World Wide Web.

With archives sprouting at newspapers like kudzu, 72 percent of respondents also said they open their repositories to some or all newsroom staffers.

While these resources become increasingly popular-and were cited as reasons behind upcoming editorial-system upgrades by several respondents-smaller numbers of newspapers offer more costly research options, including CD-ROMs (47 percent) and commercial databases like Lexis-Nexis (22 percent) to newsroom staffers. Several respondents specifically cited the cost of Internet research-free-as the reason why the older tools weren't in use, while others said they channel commercial-database research through dedicated library staff to keep a lid on costs.

Some newspapers not offering individual reporters archive or Internet access, often those saddled with aging front-ends, make such resources available at community terminals. Others only provide access to editors or computer-assisted reporting staff.

Desktop Resources For Reporters

Source: TechNews fax poll of 122 respondents

CD-ROMs in use at responding newspapers included commercial street atlases, phone directories and geographical-information system disks; as well as ones containing state and national government statistics such as Census figures, the Environmental Protection Agency's toxic waste registry, motor-vehicle data and property records.

Other information resources made available to newsroom staff include wire services, databases of judicial records and other public-record information, lists of state employees, networked contact lists, and the old standbys: print encyclopedias, style guides and dictionaries.

Clearly, not everyone is won over by the fancy new electronic tools. In response to a question about what information is available to his reporters, one respondent wrote, "None-unless they keep a newspaper on their desk."