Information categories and editorial processes in multiple channel publishing

The newspaper and media companies’ venture into electronic editions during the last decade place new demands on the organisation, the workflows, and the technology utilised within the organisation. In order to predict the future development of printed and electronic products and services within newspaper (and other media) companies, a set of content characterisation tools are presented in this thesis. By using the concepts of push versus pull orientation, and topicality versus durability, the migration patterns of certain information types, fulfilling a number of information needs, between different publishing channels can be mapped. Disparate publishing channels have different publishing rhythms and require different narrative techniques. This has an influence on the planning, the coverage, the production, and the publishing of news, and is closely linked to the concepts of push/pull and the degree of topicality. The migration of information types between different channels, and the different publishing rhythms and narrative techniques, affect the organisation and the workflows of the editorial department. In order to obtain as many synergetic effects as possible, the organisation should be designed to support a smooth and effective information and workflow based upon the products and services offered by the company. An editorial organisation with a common news desk for all editions forms a good base for integrated editorial work. The publishing system used in the newspaper company should be designed to be flexible and to support creative work, keep track of ongoing work, published and non-published content, and it should handle all conceivable content elements. The publishing system should consist of different subsystems built up around a common multimedia database.