New Feature Launching!

Tomorrow, we'll roll out our first new feature: "The Brag Book." Basically, it's a photo galleries of kids age newborn to three years old.

Check it out. And then, send us your photos!

The Weekend Shift

So..here I am at The Journal-Standard office. Some might think the life of a small-town newspaper editor to be glamorous. But in reality, it's a lot of work. Of course there is recognition. but a small staff means that, inevitably, even the boss winds up pulling an occasional night or weekend shift.

And that's what I am doing right now. It's almost 7 P.M. We are finishing the paper, putting the final text on pages A-1 and A-8. Our designer, Jodie Butler, will layout the page, integrating photos and text boxes, to create an attractive, readable package.

My job tonight is to act as the "night editor." That means that I proof and approve the pages. I also need to write a column for Monday. Any ideas?

Newsroom Notes

Here are some notes from The Journal-Standard newsroom:

1.) Look for J-S reporter J.C. Wilson tomorrow (June 23) at Bookworld in Freeport. J-C will be there from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. signing his book "Power of the Pen: Poems and Pontification," which was published by PublishAmerica in May of 2005. You can learn more about the book here.

2.) We are nearing the end of our test run of two comics, "One Big Happy" and "Flo and Friends." We haven't heard much from readers yet. That may be a good thing, given how many people hated "Get Fuzzy" and "Pearls before Swine." We'll try two new comics in early July. But don't worry, "For Better or For Worse" isn't going anywhere.

Last Day of the Germania

Germania Pictures

J-S Final Run Video

Final Press Run Photos

Bigger Fonts are Back!

Well..we did it! In today's newspaper, we've gone back to the font size we used prior to the transition to Rockford. Basically, we shut off the scaling and created some new templates that fit Rockford's press.

Again, I'd like to thank all of our readers for their patience during the transition. We believe we are creating a better newspaper here in Freeport. You will begin to see the fruits of that effort soon.

New Features Coming

Yesterday was eventful for The Journal-Standard's newsroom. David Arkin, a content specialist for our parent company Gatehouse Media, made the trip to Freeport to brief reporters on a redesign effort that has been underway, with the input of the J-S editors and publisher, for months.

Reporters got their first glimpse of new features that will be launched in the newspaper beginning next month. These features include new Q&As, How-Tos, and spotlights that will make the paper more useful and more readable. By the end of August, we plan to launch a completely redesigned Journal-Standard.

We'll be asking for your input during the process. In particular, we'll be looking for readers who would like to help us test prototype designs. If that's of interest to you, please send me an email.

Readability Fix Coming

Those of you have called to complain that the print has gotten smaller since we began publishing in Rockford: thank you for your patience. If you've read my prior post, you know the problem is that our pages are getting scaled to fit on the smaller pages used by Rockford's digital press. We think we've found a solution and it will be implemented soon. So, I hope by this time next week, the readability issues will be over. But as always, please contact me with any problems or concerns.

Thanks for reading!

A Pile of Rubble

Well..it's done. The Germania has been reduced to a rubble heap. Some might say it was already a heap - an unoccupied, hulking blot on Freeport's landscape. But I am kinder than that: the building probably could have been fantastic, if steps to save it had been taken 10 years ago. But, they weren't. The reality is that the building simply wasn't usable anymore. it had a lot more potential as symbol than as an actual brick-and-mortar structure for hosting dances or tumbling or any of the other hundreds of events that supporters of saving it could dream up.

So, the question is where the Germania fans go from here. I have thoughts on this that I will share in my Monday column.

Germania Update

The wrecking ball has crashed into the Germania. A city contractor began the demolition of the building at about 4:00 P.M. this afternoon. Work is expected to continue tomorrow.

The Journal-Standard will have complete coverage.

Trucks at the Germania

There are trucks at the Germania. It looks like preparations for the demolition have begun. Part of a large crane has arrived on a flatbed.

Columnist Olga Carlile is in my office asking about the fate of the Germania's trees. Will they survive the demolition? We'll see.

Reporter J.C. Wilson claims to have met the Germania cat at the library. But I have my doubts: he saw an "off-white" cat. The Germania cat, at least the one we know of, is gray.

Thanks for reading!

Print Quality Questions

In a comment on my "Welcome" post, Geoff Sweet asked a question that I've gotten from several readers the past two days: why is the text of the papers printed in Rockford so light?

Thanks for the question Geoff.

The answer is that we are still fine-tuning our settings. When we ran the paper here in Freeport, our pressmen made manual adjustments to get the right colors in the paper - including the right shading on our text. Rockford uses digital profiles. So, basically we are working on calibrating our settings - what we see on the screen - for that press. It's an adjustment that we will continue to make over the next month or so.

There is a similar explanation for the "smaller" font. Our press used a 50-inch "web." Rockford's uses a 48-inch web. You can see the difference yourself if you place a copy of the paper from the past two days on top of a copy from an older date. You'll find that it's not an exact fit. The Rockford-printed copy is smaller. So, the problem for the newsroom is how we fit a paper designed on a 50-inch template into a 48-inch space.

In the early stages of the transition, the answer has been to electronically scale our pages at Rockford. They get a bit smaller - not much. And I think the paper is still very readable.

Here is what J-S Publisher Steve Trosley had to say about the print issue. "The difference is only 3 percent. On 11-point time that’s actually less than a point – and there are 12 points in one-sixth of an inch or in one pica, the standard printer’s measurement. Picas and points are base six math whereas most Americans work in Base 10."

"Geoff has exceptional vision. I want him as a gunner on my B-25."

Scaling is a temporary solution: we are in the middle of a redesign that will change all of our templates along with the fonts used in the newspaper. Readability is a huge concern for us, so you'll probably see us return to a larger font size.

And that brings me to my next point: this is your hometown newspaper. we need to know what you like - and don't like about the Journal-Standard. Any thoughts on the increased use of color throughout the newspaper?

For those interested, here is a bit of information about Rockford's press.

Waiting for the Crane

Well, we are still waiting for the crane that will demolish the Germania. It was supposed to happen yesterday. Instead, city workers came and installed a fence. Based on what I am hearing now from City Hall, the demolition may not happen until tomorrow. I will keep you posted.

Hot Dog!

Two new hot dog stands have opened up in downtown Freeport. You can read about them here.

The photo above shows the hotdog stand outside of S.B. Candies on Stephenson Street. It was taken by J-S photgrapher Stefanie Weiss.

Which is better, the Chicago or New York style hot dog? What's the difference, anyway? Here's a Wikipedia article that gives a good roundup of the many variations of hot dogs available around the country. Which is your favorite? Email me at andrew.analore@imfpubs.com and let me know.

Thanks for reading!

First Rockford Run a Success!

Well, we did it. All of the hard work of newsroom staffers paid off last night, when we printed our first paper in Rockford. Today's paper has a bit of information about how the process works. You can read it here.

I have to admit, I was nervous when I opened my front door this morning. Like many of you, I am a subscriber to the paper. And while I usually know what it's going to look like in advance, I look forward to reading it every morning. So..the fact that the paper was there on time was a huge relief. It was also a testament to the abilities of the people who put it together.

So, today's paper: some readers have complained about a "washed out" or bleached look to the photos. I agree they aren't quite right. They certainly lack the eye-popping quality we have seen in the test runs we've done at Rockford. We'll spend today fine-tuning the process. In the days ahead, I think you'll be impressed.

The End of the Germania

I am waiting in my office for the demolition of the Germania. It's scheduled to happen sometime this morning - we haven't been told when yet. There is no activity outside right now. Our office is directly across the street from the collapsed building, so we've been warned that we could be hit by some fallout.

One key question: what happened to the stray cat that lived in the building? You've seen him - or her - in our newspaper from time-to-time. We'd like to think he survived. If there's a sighting, I'll let you know.

In honor of our fallen Germania bulding, here are some links to Germania Clubs around the country:

Germania Club Downriver of Brownstown, Michigan

Germania Club of Kansas City

Germania Club of Evansville, Indiana

Thanks for reading!

Wow! What a weekend!

Hi!

I just got back from the final press run of The Journal-Standard in Freeport. Starting with Tuesday's paper, we will be printing in Rockford. This is possible because of our parent's recent purchase of The Rockford Register Star. We're very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead of us. For instance, Rockford's digital press will allow us to use color on every page, if we choose to.

Tonight's press run was bittersweet. It's clearly the end of an era. But great new things are ahead for our paper. The run was atteneded by about 25 people - including my children, who came home smelling of ink. It's a smell I am going to miss.

Check back for exclusive photos and video from the final press run.

Germania Tumbles

The other historic happening was the collpase of the Germania Building. We'll have a lot more to say about this in the days ahead. There are clearly a number of questions to be answered. Why did strucutral engineers and historic preservationists sign off on the building's strucutral soundness, for example?

Regardless of how you feel about the Germania, the city now has only one option. Demolish it, and do it as quickly as possible before someone gets hurt or killed.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

Romer Drafted

Wes Roemer, the son of Journal-Sandard reporter Diana Roemer, was selected 50th in yeterday's Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft. Wes, a righthander, spent this season pitching for Cal State Fullerton. He was chosen by the Arizona Diamondbacks. You can read more about him here.

Also, click here to read Diana's account of the draft.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew

Bees and Interns

As a community newspaper, our job is to tell the story of Freeport and its surrounding towns as completely possible. We take that responsibility seriously. But sometimes events overtake our efforts. Here are two recent examples:

1.) Last week, our new photographer, Stefanie Weiss, went on assignment to get a photo of a swarm of bees that had escaped from a hive and were menacing customers at a nearby store. We thought this would be a great photo opportunity. But when Stefanie arrived at the scene, the bees had flown away.

2.) Our intern, Heather Walrath, tried to cover the circus that came to Freeport this week. But the owners kicked her out. You can read more about this tomorrow in Heather's "Intern's Notebook."

New Comics

Journal-Standard readers, we need to hear from you about our new comics, "One Big Happy" and "Flo & Friends." We will test some more comics at the end of the month, and we'll eventually keep two permanently. So, if you love comics, now's the time to speak up!

Email me at andrew.analore@journalstandard.com.

End of the iNK

Some of you may not have heard the news: We have published the last issue of our weekly newspaper, The iNK.We decided to end publication for a couple of reasons. First, with the switch to printing at Rockford, we couldn't efficiently produce the 2,000 or so copies of The iNK that we run and distribute each week. Second, and more important, the iNK never really found an identity. We had tried recently to position it as a paper that would appeal to younger readers. We made great strides. But we never quite got there. iNk fans shouldn't fret, however. We'll be moving some of its content - including columns by J.C. Wilson and Ryan Blackburn - to The Journal-Standard in the coming weeks.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Andrew

Welcome!

Hi folks! Thanks for coming to my blog!

This isn't an ideal setup. This blog should really be hosted on The Journal-Standard's website (http://www.journalstandard.com.) And soon, it will be. Later this summer, we'll take the wraps off a revamped web site that will include blogs, multimedia, breaking news..and a whole lot more. We'll keep you posted.

For now, though, you can continue to come here for the inside story of The Journal-Standard newsoom.

Thanks for reading!

Andrew