Overview
Preserving News in the Digital Environment was commissioned by the Library of Congress Office of Strategic Initiatives and conducted by the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) in 2010. Its purpose was to map the lifecycle of news content published in both print and digital formats and to examine the relationship between these distribution channels during a period of significant transformation in the news industry.
Current Status
Preserving News in the Digital Environment is a completed CRL study whose principal outcome was a report exploring the lifecycle of news content and its implications for long-term preservation.
History Founding and Context
To advance the Library of Congress's news preservation agenda, CRL undertook a project to analyze, document, and map the flow of news content, information, and data across four major newspaper organizations. The research examined each stage of the news lifecycle, including sourcing, production, editorial processing, and distribution to audiences. By creating a detailed picture of these workflows, the project sought to establish a shared understanding of the contemporary news environment and inform the development of a strategic framework for preservation action.
Funders or Sponsorship and Partners
This work was commissioned by the Library of Congress Office of Strategic Initiatives.
Launch and Scope
The research and report were produced in 2010 and subsequently published on the Center for Research Libraries and Library of Congress websites.
Participation
The research and writing of the report were carried out by Jessica Alverson, Kalev Leetaru, Victoria McCargar, Kayla Ondracek, James Simon, and Bernard Reilly.
Content Description
The report presented an overview of news workflows and systems, organized around the three major stages in the news lifecycle:
- Sourcing News Content
- Editing and Producing the News
- Distributing News Content
Four newspapers served as the project’s test bed: The Arizona Republic, The Seattle Post‑Intelligencer (since 2008, seattlepi.com), The Wisconsin State Journal, and The Chicago Tribune. The study also drew on CRL’s earlier research on The New York Times, Investor’s Business Daily, and the Associated Press.
Preserving newspapers from the United States and around the world had been central to CRL’s mission since its founding in 1949, and by that time CRL had built a collection of more than 16,000 newspaper titles. The study informed CRL’s strategic framework for preserving electronic news.
Additional Information
View the IFLA Newspaper Section Presentation (2014) here