It means using database programs such as Paradox, Foxpro, Access, even PC-File. It means using statistical packages such as SPSS and SAS to wade through government data and number-crunching. It means using GIS mapping programs such as MapInfo or Atlas. They'll also handle VDT copyediting, page design, pagination, online publishing. This percentage is up substantially over a similar poll taken in 1994.
Half now prefer electronic photos and camera-ready art.
About two-thirds expect to prefer electronic formats in two years. Computers add another layer of complexity to information retrieval. However, this complexity is far outweighed by speed and by quantity of data. In the next century, it's been estimated that 75 per cent of all government business will be done by computer. If you are going to be a reporter in the Twenty-First Century, you will have to have computer skills in order to get a story from a database or spreadsheet.