Alarms from the wire room signaled the latest disaster or triumph. Gruff editors kicked at trash baskets and bellowed obscenities at reporters. Desks were adorned with overflowing ashtrays and crumpled paper coffee cups. Thirty years ago, this was a typical scene for thousands of journalists. But times have changed.
Police scanners chatter their digital warnings from a corner of the newsroom.
The dull clicks of computer keyboards assault the silence. Coffee cups still litter surfaces, depending on the drinker's tidiness, but all ashtrays have been removed. Many veteran journalists say modern newsrooms have the corporate feel of an insurance agency. But newsroom decor and decorum aren't the only fading newsroom traditions. Investigative reporters could be going the way of the typewriter, too, according to a new book about the craft.