Observation Experience
I took my desktop publishing class to the Comanche Chief to observe the production of the newspaper. This is a weekly paper that focuses on local news. The Comanche Chief has one editor, one reporter and one advertising specialist. The staff explained the many facets that went into the production of the paper. The editor explained how the paper went into production using computers. The entire paper is produced with the computer and various software packages.
The advertising for the paper is primarily done by one person and the correspondence through e-mail. The editor explained how the advertisements were placed on each page and the prices for each advertisement. He also stressed the importance of deadlines. The paper has to be printed in another town so when the deadline is here, the assignment has to be finished. If the assignment is not finished it will not make the weekly paper. This is not a good policy for a small town paper to put off important information until the next week.
Printing the paper is a whole different story. We did not see the paper print, however we were able to spend time with the master printer at the paper. He supervises all the extra printing associated with the paper. He was printing documents such as receipt books, flyers, and numbering papers. The printer had been working for the paper since he was 11 years old. His total number of years at the paper ranged in the 70's. I believe he said he was 85 years old. He was able to take the students back in time and show all of the various stages of printing. His knowledge was unbelievable. He took us from the press to the computer. That is a big change and the students were able to see the change. I was amazed at how far we have come in the recent years. Desktop Publishing has improved dramatically.
After we observed the Comanche Chief , we went by the library to see some of the newspapers that are printed daily and talk about all that goes on with the production of a daily paper. Most of the students, and myself, did not know all of the contributing parts of a newspaper production.
