Thread by @palewire

This promotion is the capstone to a complete, fundamental change in how the @latimes makes the charts and maps that accompany stories.

The effort involved dozens of people all across the newsroom. Let me tell you a little more about it. 🧵

https://twitter.com/palewire/status/1452747084314996737

@latimes When we started, there was a clear consensus change was necessary.

1️⃣ Every chart was produced separately for web and print, often by different people. 2️⃣ Web charts weren't responsive. 3️⃣ Copy edits were done at night on paper. 4️⃣ We staffed until the print deadline year round

@latimes Those practices all had their time and place, and the output was indeed high quality.

But the urgent need to grow our digital audience called out for investing in more ambitious efforts like visual stories and news applications.

Streamlining this process was an obvious way in.

@latimes After consulting with numerous other newsrooms around the world, @thomas06037 and I decided it was time to make a change.

We convened a volunteer group from our department — @LoElebee, @CartoonKahuna, @VanessaMartinez and @ryanvmenezes.

@latimes @thomas06037 @LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @VanessaMartinez @ryanvmenezes We worked together, for months, to hammer out a new system, which is now fully implemented.

Altogether, it's too much to go into it all here, but let's walk through the core pieces of the replacement process.

The tech came first. And the timing couldn't have been better for us.

Just as we were considering the challenge, @Datawrapper was delivering what, for newspapers, is a truly killer feature.

For a price, every chart made via its point-and-click web interface can be converted into a PDF, in CMYK colors, that can be sent immediately to a printing press.

The result is that, with only a few minutes extra effort, any chart initially made for the web is print ready.

This instantly changed the game, and separated their offering from everything else we considered as a solution. Immense labor savings.

And, to boot, the web version of the chart is responsive and easily embedded in digital content management systems. A quality upgrade.

Selecting the technology was only the first step of the journey, and perhaps the easiest.

Once that was done, our volunteers partnered with the @Datawrapper team to adapt its charts to our traditional @latimes look for both web and print.

This required frequent, ongoing talk with a tech team in Germany. The result was a nearly seamless translation, but time consuming

@Datawrapper @latimes At the same time, our CMS, recently replaced in an ownership change, needed to adapt to properly handle the new outputs, a reform spearheaded by @thomas06037 with our operations team.

That meant responsive embeds for web. And a simple route to send the PDFs to print designers.

@Datawrapper @latimes @thomas06037 Next came the workflow. Sure, we've got the tech settled. But how will we use it?

After much experimentation, we've hashed out a Slack based system that's totally paperless and remote-work friendly.

@Datawrapper @latimes @thomas06037 Here's the short version:

📊 One graphics reporter is on duty each weekday in a specialized Slack channel.

📊 They assist reporters trained in datawrapper and also field requests.

📊 After editing each chart or map, web and print versions are exported and posted in the channel

@Datawrapper @latimes @thomas06037 📊 That message is shared with a separate Slack channel run by our copy desk. The editors there review the work and ask for any necessary fixes.

📊 The charts are updated in datawrapper and reposted.

@Datawrapper @latimes @thomas06037 📊 The web version of the chart is embedded in the CMS story. The print version is uploaded to a print page related to the story.

📊 Between 5 and 6 p.m. a summary note is posted in the channel listing the status of our all finished and in-progress charts.

📊 That note is then shared with the Slack channel where our print production is managed, alerting designers to options.

📊 The staffer logs off the day, before the sun sets. Any late fixes are sent to an emergency help line of editors, or fixed by print editors directly.

After the process was hammered out, the training began.

@LoElebee, @CartoonKahuna and @thomas06037 drafted an in-depth manual covering every aspect of our process, with separate sections tailored to reporters, copy editors and graphics staff.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 The campaign continues but in numerous sessions dozens of staffers have been introduced to the new process.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 Our crew is trained up and the Slack channel is staffed by one person on our team each weekday. The rotation is filled in via a seniority based selection process.

The way the math works out, most people only do one or two shifts a month.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 And we've quit regularly staffing nights. Since everything is done and copyedited, for both web and print, by 6 p.m., we don't need to have people hanging out.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 This has allowed us to reinvest a massive amount of brainpower into more ambitious digital work.

Now that I've seen the results, I see it as a change on par with first adoption of digital publishing tools like Adobe Illustrator last century.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 That said, it's far from perfect. And still evolving. That's where @thomas06037's new role comes in.

After our experiments, it became clear the system needed an editor. Someone to coach our staff, be the backstop for quality and serve as a day to day contact for the newsroom.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 In my view, no one in the history of the @latimes has been better suited for this job than @thomas06037.

He's passionate about improving the production process, has deep relationships with newsroom and has mastered his craft.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 @latimes I can't imagine this change succeeding with his effort, or without the other volunteers in our "task force," @LoElebee, @CartoonKahuna, @ryanvmenezes and @VanessaMartinez.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 @latimes @ryanvmenezes @VanessaMartinez Also essential were the dozens of other people on our operations team, copy desk, CMS group who helped us figure this out.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 @latimes @ryanvmenezes @VanessaMartinez Finally, the first and most important supporter of this reform was our former editor @NPearlstine, who understood from the start the need to make a break and take a moon shot.

@LoElebee @CartoonKahuna @thomas06037 @latimes @ryanvmenezes @VanessaMartinez @NPearlstine That's my little spiel. I'm sure I left out of a lot, or didn't quite say everything right. But, to me, this kind of change is so important to our little world that I want to share it.

If you have any questions, shoot. And, once again, join me in thanking @thomas06037 for taking on this important work.

https://twitter.com/palewire/status/1452747084314996737