The libraries journalists lost when newspapers digitised

When I started as a journalist in the late 1970s, newspapers and magazines were still put together using hot metal type. In theory union demarcation meant journalists never got close to the compositor hardware, but there were a few times when I did.

At times I catch a faint metallic smell that reminds me of those days.

I remember the clack of typewriters, telephones with bells, the noisy newsroom clash of egos, the mumbling from the subs desk and the late night questions from the proof-readers. I’ve never been a smoker, but years spent working in newsrooms probably did as much damage to my lungs. And all the pub lunches I ate while waiting for contacts to spill the beans and deliver an exclusive punished my liver.

Those were the days

Of course I miss the shabby glamour of the old days. Journalism was fun then. It can still be fun. Although it's now a different kind of fun.

And seeing your story on the home page of a newspaper web site is nothing compared to walking through town were newsstands everywhere are plastered with your story while you pass people in cafes or on the bus reading your news.

One thing I feel newspapers lost when moving to modern digital systems were the clipping and photo libraries. There were knowledgable librarians and the other custodians of knowledge who just knew how to find stuff fast. And while you were in the newspaper library checking up on old stories, the librarian was often able to chime in with a valuable snippet of extra background information.

Google did for them.

Google does a fine job of finding old information, but it is not as comprehensive. Most of all, I miss chatting with an intelligent human being then seeing a Manilla folder of clips and photos arrive on my desk an hour or so later.