To print that book used to be an incredibly difficult task because there was no database of who worked where. For the first time, there is a database. That got everybody to realize that this could be the way we do business. Currently present in many newsrooms as a link to archives, intranets expand their role to critical production areas. In San Antonio, the first application will replace the multipart paper forms used for decades to assign photographs.
Editors can see the assignments other editors or reporters made.
In Munster, Ind., Howard Publications Inc. opted to aggressively expand its home-grown intranet. Additional software by DeskNet Inc. of New York City provides an interface to QuarkXPress. Such systems aren't just for smaller-market operations. Several large Scandinavian newspapers have integrated CCI Europe's complex NewsDesk system with Lotus Notes. Such applications simply won't remain confined to the newsroom.