Intranets serve two basic purposes in newsrooms, although they are hardly limited to two purposes. Creative thinking coupled with some basic knowledge can yield quick and easy resources for a newsroom under time and budget constraints. First, an intranet can be constructed much like this website. It can provide a means for cataloging internet resources and organising them in easy to use and easy to find ways. Since the files for the intranet site are held locally, downloading time is quick.
Users only have to enter the slower internet when they find the site they want.
Second, an Intranet can help librarians and other individuals responsible for research and information by providing a means of creating new databases and other handy information sources from information already existing in the newsroom, but not necessarily easily accessible. The best thing about intranets is they cost very little. If you have internet access in your newsroom, then the extra cost of setting up an intranet is minimal, and would primarily be spent in time for an individual to build the site. Software can be easily downloaded for free from the internet and your pre-existing server can be used to store the files. Basic tools you will need to build your own intranet site.