IMAGE ARCHIVES IN NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL

OFFICES: A SERVICE ACTIVITY

Susanne OrnagerHead of Department

The Royal School of Library & Information Science. Copenhagen,

Denmark

•Introduction• Methodology• Analyses of empirical material

– Customers of the archives– Co-operation with the journalists– Indexing system in the archive– The newspaper structure and the

archives– Visual language and the archive– The organizational culture of the

archives

• Changing the photo archives into service institutions

• Conclusion

Introduction to the study

• Investigation based on newspaper photo archives

• The original study was about indexing and search routines

• A feeling of uncertainty in the archives

• New image - photo archives as a service entity

• Visual archive personnel are typically a back-up function

The big question is

How do we turn the visual archive into a very visible service entity for newspaper editorial offices?

Methodologies

• Ms. Clement stresses that: Service is a business where the customer pays for a specific result to be achieved

• Mr. Normann and Ms. Clement has a conceptual framework to be used for describing and managing a service system

• The magic formula by Mr. Norman will be used in this presentation

The Magic formula

• Market segment – divides customers into groups

• Service package – is the core and peripheral service

• Delivery system– focuses on active customer

contact

• Image– is how the customer perceives the

company

• Culture– is the "spiritual feel of the place”

Grounded theory

• The theory emerges through observation, interviews and/or questionnaires

• First the data is analyzed by "Open coding”

• Categories are established

• Then data is analyzed by “Axial coding”

• The results are examined in relation to the various components in Mr. Normann's Magic Formula

Empirical material

Customers of the archives

• The customer is the journalist• He/She is busy working with a

well-defined quantity of material

• His/Her universe is the "material”

• He/She wants the archives to relate to THEIR area of interest

• When this fails to happen the archive is "difficult to relate to"

Empirical material

Archival personnel say that:

• Journalists are often regarded as being poor at formulating queries

• They are often regarded as people who always want everything about everything

• They are often regarded as being without a sense of visual imagery and very text-orientated.

Empirical material

• There are journalists who are interested in the right photo

• Why do archive personnel then feel that journalists perceive the photo as secondary?

Empirical material

• "The interview technique is not standardized"

The above seem to enforce the idea that there are communication problems between the journalists and archive personnel.

• "We have not contacted them (the journalists) as much as we would have liked to”

Show that there is a possibility of improving communication

Empirical material

Co-operation with the journalists

• Good service

• Human relations, confidentiality and communication between sender and receiver

“They still trust us to choose the right ones (photos) for them. There is a high degree of mutual trust …”

Empirical material

Co-operation with the journalists

• Bad service

• Rumors, which can become self-perpetuating

"These journalists they can't formulate a query correctly...”

Empirical material

Co-operation with the journalists

• Loss of motivation and breakdown of communication

• No peripheral service is being given

Empirical material

Indexing system in the archive

• Coded systems

• Word-based systems

• The customers say that they can use the archive but prefer it if the archive personnel carry out the searches

Empirical material

The newspaper structure and the archives

• The picture has become a more important part of communicating the news

• But many archivists still feel physically isolated in the newspaper offices

"We feel physically isolated from the editorial office. It would be nice (to have) the articles and also much more fun"

Empirical materialVisual language and the archive

• How is loneliness understood:

"An elderly man sitting on a bench”

"A person walking along a road with his back turned”

The above-mentioned examples of visual language is common for archive personnel working for newspapers with different object clauses

Empirical material

Visual language and the archive

• How do the archive personnel/journalists find their associations?

"Being together with colleagues - experience”

Empirical material

Visual language and the archive

• The dialogue with journalists is important

"Associations are grounded in a ‘verbal fight’ with the journalist, a sort of Ping-Pong till something crops up"

Empirical material

The organizational culture of the archives

• There is a need for stability in the daily routines, while at the same time there is a necessity for things to change and a need to learn from one's experiences

• Good circle is where customer and employee feel satisfied

Empirical material

The organizational culture of the archives

• Bad circle is where one has to uncover myths and create new understanding. In other words everyday life in the organization has to change

Changing the photo archives into service

institutionsNormann’s Model Empirical ModelMarket segment Customers of the archive

Service packetCo-operation with thejournalistsIndexing systems in thearchives

DeliveryIndexing systems in thearchivesNewspaper structure andthe archivesVisual language and thearchives

Image Co-operation with thejournalists

CultureOrganizational culture ofthe newspaper

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

Customergroup

Wishes(stated)

Wishes(not stated)

Customergives

Specificenquiry

Specificpicture

Specificpicture

Reluctantoral answer

Non-specificenquiry

Non-specificpicture

Specificpicture

Part of thestory

Tells thestory

Somethingor otherbacks up thestory

Undefined Oral versionof the storyand otherinformation

Gives thestory

Illustrationfor the story

Undefined Delivers thestory to beread

To fill a gap Height &width

Height &width

Height &width

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

Preparation of a short and easy-to-understand manual for picture retrieval

Holding short training sessions on search techniques (make the system psychologically and intellectually accessible)

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

Storing of pictures in groups, reminiscent of the bag system

Interviews/help in conducting searches where co-operation with the journalist is called for

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

• The Service packet has to do with the indexing, where a customer must be able to count on a certain continuity in the description of a photo if he/she wants continuity in the searches.

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

• Delivery is to develop a customer interface taking the requirements of the user categories into account.

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

• Image is not common because image differ within private organizations.

• The staff resemble the user

• It may be a bussy business but lets remember to be human

• Personnel must be confident of their systems and appear knowledgeable

Changing the photo archives into service

institutions

• Culture manifest itself in different ways.

• One way is that there is a psychological factor in being close to the customer. The customer has more confidence in a service entity which is near.

Conclusion

• The photo archives do have the potential to become service entities in the newspaper world.

• It is necessary to chart the customers' needs and requirements, now and in the future

• Which type of photos the different types of newspapers should aim for

• Closer ties between the archives and the editorial offices

• Customers can relate to archive material• ”Shop" at home first

Conclusion

• Future supply systems should be based on user categories and there should be standardized guidelines for visual analysis and description

References

• Clement, J. (1990). Service Management. [Ledelse af servicevirksomheder]. Křbenhavn, Civilřkonomernes Forlag.

• Normann, R. (1983). Service Management - ledelse og strategi i produksjon av tjenester. [Service Management]. Oslo, Bedrifts-řkonomisk Forlag.