Old dog learns new tricks

Emily Bialkowski
Times-Press

REEDSBURG — For months my boss promised he was hard at work trying to get the Times-Press new computers and software that would better support our web site and other critical computer applications.

I always accepted his updates with skepticism. After all, it is my job as a journalist to be skeptical about everything, even when it comes from the boss. Plus, I know new computers and new software means more troubleshooting and panic-stricken phone calls to IT 15 minutes before deadline.

This transition, which has yet to take place, is not as simple as getting an updated version of Microsoft Word. The Times-Press is in the process of transitioning from Macs to PCs and Quark Xpress to Indesign.

Quark is the graphic design program I use to lay out the paper. Now I'm in the process of learning how to the newspaper on a PC in Indesign.

At first I was nervous I wouldn't digest the training fast enough and walked into the computer lab Wednesday feeling like a highschooler. But my colleague Chad made the eight of us at that training session feel very confident.

It couldn't have been an easy job for him. Put eight newspaper people together in any room and the jokes and sarcasm can quickly distract even the most focused student. This is why editors meetings are never less than two hours long with only two items on the agenda.

A colleague from the Sauk Prairie newspaper periodically had meltdowns during the training, which included swearing, moaning and sinking so far down I thought he was going to fall off his chair. By the third random outburst we couldn't help but laugh at the poor soul. Every person there — I guarantee — was hoping he or she would not be the slowest learner, and once that person was discovered it was easy to patiently help him along until he could catch up. Since we were all afraid of being that person, it made it easy to identify with his struggle.

In fact, I was so afraid of not getting the new program, I purposefully sought Chad out the minute I walked into the room and plopped myself down right next to him. I figured it would be easier to help me if I was sitting next to him.

With a little practice and instruction on the short cuts, I quickly began to like Indesign. Sure, there are elements of the program that annoy me, such as the eight trillion toolbar options at the top of the page, but it definitely offers design options that aren't available in my current version of Quark. Ultimately, this software will help me produce a better looking newspaper — that is, once I figure out how to use all the fancy options.

This first training session offered us a sneak preview of what to expect and how to use our new system once it gets here. The staff and I already know the first live day with the new equipment will be stressful and frustrating, but we also know, like anything else, it will become easier with practice.

It's also a win-win for this staff because we'll be so much more valuable as newspaper employees having knowledge of the two major design programs our industry uses. And, it gets better.

This new system will finally allow our web site updates to happen in a timely manner. Wiscnews.com/rtp, the Times-Press' web site, has been a floundering fish out of water as of late because our archaic computers can't support the content management system our company uses for the web sites. This is why sometimes the site is updated and sometimes it's not. We're always trying to update the content, but get all kinds of lovely error messages in the process. In a matter of months these issues will be a thing of the past.

A company could go bankrupt trying to keep up with every technology and software innovation available, but selective, timely transitions are worth the investment in the end. And isn't that a nice thought, too? Despite all the doom and gloom reports that newspapers themselves are a thing of the past, my organization is making a tremendous investment in making sure the Reedsburg Times-Press is capable of producing the best local news in town!