La República relies on MILENIUM to prepare successfully the first newspaper with an empty newsroom
The 18 journalists and 9 editors put together the newspaper on a remote basis without affecting the production process
The Colombian newspaper La República has carried out an unprecedented technological experiment which may prove to be a watershed for the newsrooms of newspapers. The experience consisted of preparing the whole edition for a given day with an empty newsroom; in other words, with all journalists and editors working on a remote basis, out of the office. The whole idea was made possible by the cutting-edge technology of Protecmedia’s MILENIUM editorial system.
18 journalists and 9 editors put together the whole newspaper without any problems, making the most of all of the communications possibilities currently existing and the flexibility and integration of MILENIUM. María Paula Albán, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, describes the experience, in an article published in the newspaper itself, in the following terms: “It was an interesting experiment to carry out, one which improved the journalists’ quality of life,“ while also pointing out that the efficiency of the newspaper’s production process was not affected at all and that, in fact, the pages were sent for printing earlier than usual.
The experience was so successful that La República has already decided to repeat the experiment once a month, in order to keep taking advantage of all of the possibilities offered by the new technologies. In this regard, the MILENIUM editorial platform will continue to provide all of its functionalities and facilitate the tasks required to carry out this important initiative.
Gonzalo Vivas, the newspaper’s graphic editor, sums up the situation well: “MILENIUM is vital in the development of this experience- without it, things wouldn’t be nearly so easy. This initiative is further progress in how we use MILENIUM, obtaining 100% mobility. Preparing the edition was a very straightforward process, not at all traumatic either as regards the design or the writing of the news items. It was a totally normal day.”