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IRISH NEWS SWITCHES TO PICDAR
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Date of News : 05/12/2005
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Irish News now able to think about the future, not worry about the present.
Irish News, the independent regional morning paper for Northern Ireland, has installed the Regional Newspaper Edition (RNE) of Picdar�s award winning Media Mogul Digital Asset Management solution. Liam McMullen, Resources and Systems Manager at Irish News, said that problems with the paper�s previous system began to emerge after a series of system upgrades were making the management of pictures less reliable. Added to the continued growth in the volume of pictures, the old system began to groan under the strain. A common frustration was that the system would sometimes fail to find the correct image.
McMullen comments on looking for a replacement system, �We needed a company that built scaleable systems specifically for newspapers, and a company that would manage the project from start to completion.� Picdar�s solution met those early criteria and, crucially, was able to transfer existing files over to the new RNE Media Mogul System without any disruption to the production process. Ian Sawyer, Project Manager, Picdar said, �A key factor for Irish News was the prospect of having to re-caption 160,000 images in the transition to another system. We offered a much better solution. They gave us the files, we uploaded them to a new server and returned the system ready for them to use.�
During the switch, the librarian and other sub editors and picture editors, continued to use the old system, but stopped updating it with new images. McMullen says, �The switch over only lasted a month, and it was painless. What was really impressive about Picdar is that the after sales support and training was so good. They really looked after everything. �
Lesley Steinitz, CEO Picdar, notes that �many regional newspapers are facing the same dilemma of how to manage growing volumes of images and text. These types of files are now almost exclusively digital in the way that they are created, stored and distributed within the production process. Some years ago, as digital images moved from being the exception to the norm, the only reasonable option for many regional newspapers was to buy digital asset management solutions based on immediate need and on price. It was what they could afford, and the options at the time were limited. This inevitably means that nowadays many regional newspaper picture management systems are beginning to break. These same systems are also unable to adjust to new demands, like on-line publishing, that are being made on them. The volumes of digital assets are increasing, and users want greater flexibility and ease of use in how they can be managed. Picdar�s Regional Newspaper Edition is designed to address those requirements at an affordable cost. It is a solution that also provides regional papers with a stable and proven digital asset management platform from which they can build in any number of future developments in the way that they manage and sell their digital assets.�
McMullen adds, �Another aspect in favour of the Picdar solution is that it is multi-platform. Along with its scalability, it gives me the confidence that we can develop our business longer term without having to worry about system issues so much. For instance, as we see more of our people working remotely, the introduction of browser based front ends might be something for us to consider later on. What we�ve bought is a turn-key solution, and it�s excellent.�
About Irish News
Founded in 1881, Irish News is independently owned, and retains an independent voice delivering local, regional and national news from the readers� viewpoint. Within Northern Ireland the title sells mainly to the nationalist community, but is recognised as a quality newspaper that reflects the full range of life in Ireland today. The paper is involved in reconciliation work between the communities in Northern Ireland and has been honoured for its outstanding contribution to the newspaper industry. The Irish News impartiality and balance have been singled out for special mention. The newspaper is available throughout Ireland, the online edition is available to the world at 9.00am G.M.T. on each publication day. In print, the Irish News has an audited circulation of 50,007, and on-line records in excess of 1.942 million page impressions per month.
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