This is a collection of the materials associated with a 1988 seminar held at the American Press Institute in Reston, VA. The J. Montgomery Curtis Seminar was an annual event that brought together thought-leaders to discuss an important topic. In 1988 the topic was the future of newspaper design, and by extension, the future of newspapers.
The
complete book of what was discussed and displayed at the conference, all 92 pages, can be seen in this slideshow. Here’s what John G. Finneman, API’s senior associate director, wrote in his forward:
Repeatedly, they returned to one of the critical challenges facing publishers and editors, the hiring and training of the “visual journalist” of the future. Regardless of the form newspapers take, those who produce the visual images — designers, illustrators, artists, photographers — will see their roles change the most in the next two decades. And the stark reality is that the existing pool of people who combine news judgment with design and computer skills is small.
In their final analysis, seminar participants agreed that the time to begin the integration of words and visual images, as well as the development of the people who will be responsible for tomorrow’s newspaper design, is not in the year 2000, but now.
Here is the invitation from API and a list of seminar topics and participants.
