The world as it should be

About 28 years ago, I wrote a book about publication design. In it, I coined the term “integrated editing,” which I defined as the joining of the functions of writing, editing and design into one process, if not into one person.

I believed — and still believe — that the best final presentation of information for the benefit and pleasure of the reader requires that the three not be conceptualized as separate tasks. All three must be worked on simultaneously or almost so.

For instance, if the writer is better informed about what the final presentation will look like, he or she will be able to gather the necessary facts. The editor needs to be part of the loop so that all the elements are pulled together consistently.  Then the designer, of course, completes the presentation with visual flair.

If each part is worked on in isolation of the others, the output will be less effective.

Awhile later, someone came up with a similar idea for newspapers called the “maestro” concept, and then more recently, we got W-E-D (thus, the title of this blog). Regardless of what it is called, the important thing is the concept.

Integrate the writing, editing and design into one process. That’s how you end up with the most effective design for your content.

One of the keys for survival for newspapers is to plan the presentation of their stories from the beginning. You can’t just add-on a “design” at the end of the production process as if it were a can of spray paint.

Yet planning seems to be the last thing many editors and publishers want to do. The reason? No time, they say. No time? GADS!

If you were driving around town on some errands and you were running low on gas, would you keep driving because you didn’t have the time to stop and fill up? I don’t think so.

Yet, at my newspaper design site, News Design School, I send out valuable information to members who at least signed up for the free newsletter, but it goes unseen. I have all sorts of valuable tools and information and tips, and through my tracking software, I can see that only about a third even open the e-mail.

You must use at least 10 percent of your time each week looking to the future, making long-range goals and working to meet them, making plans. Why do journalists fail to see this? We wonder why many newspapers are failing.

Good designs involve planning. Good newspapers involve planning. Survival involves planning. I wish I could convince more people that this is true.