How desktop computers came to the rescue of newspaper production

A newspaper is a publication containing news, information and advertising usually printed in low cost paper called newsprint. Usually newspapers are most published daily or weekly. In this world, the first printed newspaper was published way back in 1605, and the form thrive even if the face of competition from technologies such as radio and television. However, recent developments on the internet are posing major threats to its business model. Paid circulation is declining in most countries and advertising revenue, which makes up the bulk of a newspaper’s income is shifting from print to online sources. Plummeting sales notwithstanding, since the 1980s, the newspaper industry has made giant strides in so far as the production process is concerned. Thanks to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the use of modern computers in general
In addition, their printing process has largely moved away from lower quality, four colour process, offset printing. However, the area that has largely benefited from modern computers is the production process. Indeed with the use of desktop computers, word processing software, graphic software, digital cameras and digital prepress and typesetting technologies, all these have revolutionalised newspapers’ production process.

With the introduction of desktop computers, newspapers production has become much more easier than before. Modern computers connected with new media facilities e.g internet, has in general helped develop media industry.

Gone are the old “Hot type” method of text composition which used molten lead to create individual letters, paragraphs, and full pages of text is extinct. Today, composition work is done primarily with computers. Improvements in desktop publishing software also allows customers to do much more of their own typesetting. These technological advances have enabled newspapers to public colour photographs and graphics as well as innovative layouts and better design. In fact the user of computers has simplified publishing tasks that would otherwise require much more complicated equipment and human efforts. This is called desktop publishing and it allows an individual to combine text, numerical data, photographs, charts and other visual elements in a document that can be printed on a laser printer or more advanced typesetting machine. The primary advantages of desktop publishing over conventional publishing apparatus are low cost and ease of use. Tanzania newspaper industry had to move with the world in the development set up.

Various African journalists at the media center during World Summit on Information Society in Tunis, Tunisia. The use of desktop computers and internet in general have helped media personnel disseminate their information with ease and more quickly.

It is also significant to note that, coming into Tanzania of such technology was during the time of the liberalization of the county’s newspaper industry. It was a time when many private newspapers came into being and which had necessitated the importation into the country modern printing presses, and lased prepress equipment. In fact typesetting and page layout have been revolutionalised by the technological changes shaping desktop publishing. Increasingly computers are used to do much of the typesetting and huge layout work formerly done by pre-press workers, posing new challenges for the printing industry. Desktop publishing is in itself rapidly changing field that encompasses a number of different kinds of jobs. As explained computers enable desktop publishers to perform publishing tasks that would otherwise require complicated equipment and extensive human efforts. Advances in computer software and printing technology continue to change and enhance desktop publishing work. For example, instead of receiving simple types text from customers, desktop publishers get the materials over the internet or in a computer disk. Other innovations in the occupation includes digital colour page make-up systems, electronic page layout systems, and off-press colour proofing systems.