The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same in the Newspaper Business



Photo by Stockphoto.com

Have you ever wondered what goes into printing a newpaper like the Albany Democrat Herald and how much technology has advanced the business of NEWS?

Technology has made it easy to report the news and publish papers and books but the process of printing hasn't changed much. Gone are the typesetters of the past, replaced by computer word processing programs and page designers.  Each page is edited and designed so that the stories and ads fit the columns and pages and then sent to the print editor for print processing.

Typesetter lays out pages.
Photo provided by www.metaltype.co.uk

Each page is then transferred to thin metal plates which are covered in a light sensitive  emulsion. These plates used to be made of precious metals such as silver and gold.

This is still the process used by newspapers and publishing company today like the Democrat Herald in Albany.

"We don't use plates with silver anymore" stated John Rehley, the commercial press and pre-print supervisor at the Democrat Herald in Albany.

The plates are exposed using a laser and the put through the developing process.The images on the plate are seen as reverse images until they are printed.

The Linotype Model 3. Photo provided by www.metaltype.co.uk

The plates are then put on the printers drum and transferred to a rubber blanket and then to the printing surface. This technique is called offset printing. According to Wikipedia, the first rotary offset lithographic printing press was created in England and patented in 1875 by Robert Barclay. This process was later developed in the 19th century to a printing press process called offset lithograph very much like the presses used in today's publishing.


Page Editor at the Democrat Herald work to insure that the pages are ready for publication.





Page editors look over each page on their computer screens for errors and to make sure that all the articles fit the page. Mike Henneke is responsible for editing the obituaries as well as other pages for the Democrat Herald. "I make sure that each obituary is easy for family and friends to cut them out", Henneke stated.



Printer technicians at the Democrat Herald inspect the newspaper for correct alignment.






Newspapers are stack and banded together ready for distribution.

 You would think that with the technology advances of today we could find a better way to publish books and newspapers but it goes back to the old adage of, "if it's not broke don't fix it".

Three things I feel are the most important of the "100 Things a Reporter Should Not Do

The Golden Rule should be first and foremost in everybody's rule book so why can't we follow it. As a reporter, in any aspect we have a longer list of rules that must be followed, that is unless your a tabloid reporter.

Here are my top three picks from Poynter's "100 Things a Reporter Should Not Do."

#1. Journalists should never stop learning. Even 15 minutes a day helps; learn a new skill or sharpen an old one.

Confucius says,"I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there". In journalism, seeking knowledge and truth is paramount in writing the story. There is always something you can learn from others no matter how young or old they may be. Knowledge is golden.

#2. Journalists should be active community members. If you aren't of the people, you aren't by the people or for the people.

Benjamin Franklin was an inventor, a scientist, a signer of the constitution and a printer and publisher. Franklin founded the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1728 and in 1732 began the publication of Poor Richard's Almanac. Franklin set the bar high for a journalist as he was for the people and extremely active in his community and his country.

Report the news and you become part of something different but something that helped establish this the United States of America.

#3. Journalists should know when stories are best told using words, photos, graphics, video, audio, data or a combination.

What impact does the words on a page give a story? Now couple those words with a photo and your reader is held captive by an image that they will never forget. An example of this is a simple photos taken in 1963 of a young boy saluting his father's casket; that boy was John F. Kennedy, Jr.

September 11, 2001 photos of the World Trade Center attack where all over the front pages of newspapers all over the world, not to mention video of the attack by news agency's and amateur photographers and videographers. This was an event that changed the lives of many americans and those images tell the story.

This is my opinion but I know that there are many people that would agree with me. Remember to do the right thing and don't be evil. Tell the story!

LBCC Visual Arts Club

Art is all around us. It is in the architecture of the buildings we live and work in. It is in the books, magazines and newspapers we read. Art has been used to tell stories, ideas and laws. The artist's job is to communicate and interpret ideas to a visual median.

The graphic artist by definition is a professional who assembles together images to create a piece of design primarily for publications, prints and advertisements. Graphic Artist are often overlooked but their work is evident everywhere.

LBCC has a great Graphics Arts program that prepares students for a career in the arts. Students that are in the program also becomes members of the Visual Arts Club.

The visual arts club at LBCC was first suggested in 1985 by John Aikman who has been an instructor for the graphic design program for 30 years.

"The club has been sighted several times as the most active club on campus and has done many things for charity organizations," stated John Aikman.

The club is one of, if not the only club that will give zero interest signature loans of $100 to students of the graphics program to assist them if needed. Currently the club has approximately 25 members but fine arts major student as well as others are welcome to join.

Each year the graphic arts club holds events to help raise money for the graphic arts program such as valentine boxes, greeting card and post cards. Jasper Hostler, the current club President and his team have organized several events for the club. Coming up for October the club members and other volunteers will be painting pumpkins that will be sold in the courtyard in celebration of Halloween. Please come out and support them and buy a pumpkin.

Jasper Holstler asks, "We need all the help we can get from our club members, and we need our second year students to check in."

Club adviser John Aikman talks to club members about the club and upcoming events.


At a Glance 
The Visual Arts Club meets every Tuesday at 10:30
Location: Graphic Arts room.
General membership is students in the graphic art program but all art students are welcome to join.
Club President: Jasper Hostler
Contact the advisor: John Aikman, 541-917-4545 aikmanj@linnbenton.edu

Bee's Good for Life

     A new box of Queen Honey Bees arrive with worker bees in order to keep the queen warm.

    The European or Western Honey Bee (Apis millifera) is not native to the Americas. They where brought to the Americas by settlers in the early 1800. Now, have you every stopped to wonder how life would be if the Honey Bee's where to disappear? Well think about this, each day farmers around the world have thousands of tiny winged workers pollinating the crops of the food that we eat and the plants we use.

    Why is that so important? Tree's and plants need to mate just like animals and humans and the offspring of the mating process are the fruits and vegetables we eat. Pollen is the male germ cells produced by all flowering plants for fertilization and plant embryo formation. The Honeybee uses pollen as a food. Flowers would also be at risk of decline if they are not pollinated. Bees are the main source of pollination and bees make up 80% of the insect world.

   Without the bees the farmers would have to find other way to pollinate which would be time consuming and costly to the farmers and to the consumers.

Dirk Olsen of Olsen Honey Farms of Albany prepares for the day as bee crews load the truck with feeder bottles to be distributed to the hives.

     The Beekeepers job is to help this process along and Commercial Beekeepers like Dirk Olsen of Olsen Honey Farms make a living working with honey bees. Dirk Olsen has two subspecies of western honey bees, the Italian and the Carniolan bee.

     Dirk and his beekeeping crews start early in the morning in order to check the hives, move the hives and feed the bees for more than 100 sites. Feeding the bees cost Olsen Honey Farms $2000 a day. Feeder jugs are filled with sugar water and placed on top of the hives. Without this food during the winter the bees would die. Olsen Honey Farms provides bees to almond orchards in central California as well as meadow foam fields in Oregon.

     Farmers pay $48 per hives at two hives an acre in order to have bees placed on their farms to pollinate crops such as kale, turnips, clover, pumpkin, cherry, almonds and much more.

Feeder bottles are filled full of sugar water and are lined up in boxes in the warehouse at Olsen Honey Farms. The feeders will be loaded onto a truck and taken out to the bee hives so that the bees can eat.

 Andy Gambardella fills a feeder bottle with sugar water.  

Andy Gambardella and Pablo Möller distribute feeder bottles to the hives as Dirk Olsen (seated) follows with a forklift carring a box of feeder bottles.

  

     A hive consists of two boxes which is where the Queen lays her eggs and up to seven supers which are used just for honey production. Boxes and supers are divided by a metal barrier that prevents the Queen from entering into the super and laying eggs but allows the workers to enter and fill the combs with honey. The honey is then extracted from the combs to be sold at the market. Dirk Olsen also sells the beeswax which is use to make candles, molds, and much more. The wax is also used in grafting grapes and beeswax can be used for cosmetics.

Diana Olsen of Olsen Honey Farms sells honey at the farmers market in downtown Albany.

     

    A colony of bees consist of one queen per hive, 200 to approximately 500 drones and thousands of workers. The drones are the only males in the hive and their only job is to mate with the queen. Drones are formed from an unfertilized egg from the queen and the female workers are formed from fertilized eggs. The queen mates only once in her life but she will mate with several drones and stores the sperm in a sac called the spermatheca. After the drone mates, his penis will break off and he will die. If drones remain during the winter months, they are removed from the hives and they will die.


Dirk Olsen of Olsen Honey Farms inspects a hives for the condition of the colony.

     
     Bee hives must be check regularly to determine if the queen is producing and to check on the condition of the colony. If a queen is not producing the she is destroyed and replaced with a new queen by the bee keeper. Hive population has suffered due to the cold and wet weather conditions. In the United States alone we have seen a decline in the bee population due to a syndrome called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) wherein the worker bees are disappearing.

    Although there is no definitive answer as to why this phenomenon is occurring, researchers and beekeepers have found some contributing causes. Dirk Olsen said that some of the causes are varroa mites, disease, and the lack of greater genetic diversity of the queens.

Greg Hansen of Olsen Honey Farms prepares a smoker for inspecting the bee hives. Burlap is burned in the smoker to calm the bees. Experts say that the bees, sensing the smoke, go into a survival stage rather then protecting the hive by gathering as much food as they can from the combs. 

The Queen Bee pictured just left of the center is the largest bee in the colony and the only bee that lays eggs. Seen here, the worker bees will make a pathway for the queen as she moves about the hive.

     Varroa mites are one of the largest contributor of CCD. Varroa mites can be seen with the naked eye as a small red or brown spot on the bee's thorax. Varroa mites feed off the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval honey bees. Varroa are carriers for a virus that is particularly damaging to the bees. Bees that are infected with this virus during their development will often have visibly deformed wings.


     The disease nosema lives in the stomach of the bee and is widespread among adult honey bees. The symptoms of the Nosema are relatively nonspecific. This makes it easy to confuse with other diseases of the honeybee. It arises mostly in the spring after periods of bad weather, although it may also be a winter disease that is only noticed in the spring when beekeepers first inspect their hives.

     The most notable symptom is dysentery. This appears as yellow stripes on the outside of the hive and in severe cases, inside the hive. Bees may also be unable to fly (“crawling”) due to disjointed wings. Further symptoms include increased girth of the abdomen, missing sting reflex and early supersedure of the queen. If the queen is infected, its ovaries degenerate and ovum production drops due to atrophy of the ova, after which it is likely to be superseded.


     Even though bee population has been down in the United States, beekeepers are building their hives back up. Ongoing research will determine the causes of CCD, but ultimately it will take the diligent efforts of the ever watchful beekeeper to ensure the successful restoration of the bee population.

A closeup of the Italian honey bee shows just how hairy the bee is. This hair is essential for gathering pollen dust. Once the bee gathers all she can carry she will return to the hive.

Entertaining for Diversity

LBCC held the annual diversity awareness event on May 26 in the campus quad. Groups from several cultural and interests backgrounds displayed information and helped educate those in attendance about diversity on campus and in life.

Special guests performers from the Woodburn High School Mariachi Band captivated spectators with their upbeat music.

Band members from the Woodburn High School Mariachi Band entertained attendees of the Diversity Awareness events at LBCC.

Emily Hinderer from the WoodburnHigh School Mariachi Band sings as band members accompany her with band members Richard Prewitt on flute and Pablo Guzman on trumpet are seen in the background.

Guitar player Feliz Bautsita of the Woodburn High School Mariachi Band play a traditional Mexican song at the LBCC Diversity Awareness event.

I have always enjoyed a diverse selection of music but there is just something that hits me with joy as I listen to the guitars and brass instruments being played in a mariachi band.

A special thank you goes out to the Woodburn High School Mariachi Band for driving about 50 miles to the LBCC Albany campus from Woodburn Oregon just to play at the event. They where a big hit.

AB

Dancing in the Dark

Last week you got a sneak peak of the Rainbow Dance Theatre production in the Russell Tripp Theatre at Linn Benton Community College.
If you made it to the performance then you will remember these moments. Those that did not attend missed out but they can see the dancers at future performances.

Just a side note; I too have performed on stage in plays, dance, improv and music. that said, I have a great appreciation for the time and energy that these talented people dedicate in perfecting their skills. Now as I promised last week, here are just a few pictures of the dancers in action.

Darryl Thomas and Carl Massey perform a spin and lift during a West African wedding dance at the Linn Benton Community Colleges' Russell Tripp Theatre on May 11.

Sam Hobbs and Jessica Evans leap in unison while performing final dance titled "One Village One Voice."

Darryl Thomas jumps high above the stage during a West African wedding dance.

Sam Cunningham dances during the "One Village One Voice" dance at the Russell Tripp Theatre at LBCC on May 11.

Upcoming performances for 2010 areas follows:
June 10-12               Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA

June 13-26               People's Republic of China

June 27                    World Beat Festival, Salem, OR*

Aug 28-Sept 19        Danza Contemporanea, Mexico City, D. F.       

Too find out more about the Rainbow Dance Theatre visit the web site at http://www.rainbowdancetheatre.com/

Until next week,
AB

Local News

Dancers from the Rainbow Dance Theatre in Monmouth Oregon graced the Russell Tripp Theatre stage at Linn Benton Community College on Tuesday May 11th with dance styles ranges from Hip Hop to African tribal dances.

Rainbow Dance Theatre members Jessica Evans, Sam Hobbs, Carl Massey and Kailee McMurran go vogue for a mock runway dance routine at the Russell Tripp Theatre at LBCC on May 11.

The show played to a full audience at the theatre and members of the audience where invited to the stage to participate in a well known dance from the 80's, the Electric Slide.

Carl Massey of the Rainbow Dance Theatre strikes a pose for the camera while performing a tap dance number at the Russell Tripp Theatre on May 11. Carl and his family will be featured on an upcoming episode of Fox Reality summer hit So You Think You Can Dance which premiers it's seventh season on May 27th.

The performance was wonderful and a great opportunity for all in attendance to learn about the dances of other cultures and a little history on the songs and movements that accompany them.

To learn more about the Rainbow Dance Theatre, it's members or to find out about upcoming shows in your area, check out their web site at http://www.rainbowdancetheatre.com/

Stay tuned next week for more exciting photo's from this show.

AB