The pandemic suddenly transformed the newsrooms of traditional newspapers, giving way to a hybrid model in which the digital modus operandi is imposed as the key engine of its structure.
There are many indications of that change. For example, the ways of planning and executing news searches and, later, of prioritizing and deciding their staging in print, are now governed by flow criteria different from the previous ones.
In the traditional model, reporters had “sources” assigned, that is, institutions or areas to which they went daily to obtain information, except for a few who were assigned coverage of events or events.
The news crops of the day reached the editors’ evening meeting in the form of summaries and, based on the importance credited to them, were distributed among the many pages available, with almost no space restrictions for texts and graphics.
New technologies have suppressed these modus operandis. The morning, morning and closing meetings of the editors are carried out virtually and the content is posted digitally.
In the pandemic, these processes were carried out remotely, from the homes of all the responsible personnel, leaving a minimum in person in the Newsroom.
The rooms were literally deserted, and to this day they give that same appearance, however, the printed product was impeccable, a prodigious magic.
Now, with new criteria for the organization and search of the news or its continuous updating, expansion, contextualization and interpretation analysis, it goes from a passive or static model of coverage to a more agile one, supported by the dynamics of digital technology.
The integration of audio and video formats, as well as the use of moving illustrations or infographics, are mixed to add value to the printed contents that are reproduced in the digital newspaper, generating a renewed overview for the type of journalism that fits in the new global communication ecosystem.
- Translated from Spanish by Randy Rodriguez.
Director's Thoughts 