“The Arizona Republic” Items

Named as IT Director

In February 1997, I was named as the director of information technology.  Here’s what the company newsletter wrote:

Howard Finberg, director of infor­mation technology, will direct the Information Services department for the next 18 to 24 months, effective Jan. 30, Vice President/Operations & Product Development Rich Cox announced last week. Sam Young will remain as Services director and turn his full attention to expanded responsibili­ties with several important Services issues and projects. Finberg will report to Cox on IS issues and continue to report to Publisher & CEO John Oppedahl on strategic technology issues.

A couple of months later, I wrote a memo to the IT staff outlining my goals:

As we discussed a little more than a month ago, the leadership structure of the information services department will be changing. During our first staff meetings I outlined my vision for the department. Since that time, I have had the opportunity to discuss this vision with many of you. Your enthusiasm has confirmed my thinking and serves as a guiding force towards our future. That vision statement is worth repeating:

“There are no system projects, only business projects enabled by information technology.”

To reach our vision, we need clear and consistent expectations. At our staff meeting I outlined those expectations. They are also worth repeating. An effective information services department:

• Makes sure all infrastructure works properly and is positioned for future growth.
• Develops a coherent architecture and clearly communicate its structure to the company. Standards can save companies money if they are applied properly; a poorly chosen standard or standards that do not change as technology changes can cost a company time and money
• Develops a team structure at both management and staff level. In addition, every team member needs to understand everything that is going on; you need to know more than your own projects.
• Makes sure that the company and its directors understand the full cost of the latest technology and the risks involved in trying to satisfy all demands all the time.
• Provides leadership, advice and it assists and works with customers so they can accomplish their business goals with a minimum of effort and expense.

 

Celebrating The Republic’s Centennial: How We Worked

In 1990 The Arizona Republic celebrated its 100 years — its centennial. There were many different projects that I had role in editing and/or coordinating. It was a once in a lifetime project. One of the projects involved a full page timeline [called “Paper Route”] of how a story is reported, written and edited. In addition, how do photographers and others in the newsroom work to create the still ‘daily miracle.’

Joining the Arizona Republic

Moving to the Arizona Republic was a big and important step in my career.  I finally reached the level I had work toward — the second level in newsroom management.  In 1987, The Republic was run by the managing editor.  Next on the organization chart were the assistant managing editors, of which I was the newest, with a newly created job.

Here’s the press release send by the parent company, Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.

PHOENIX, ARIZ . (July 30, 1987) — Howard I. Finberg, former photography and graphics editor at the San Francisco Chronicle, has been named to the newly created position of assistant managing editor/graphics at The Arizona Republic.

In his new position, Finberg will be responsible for the visual aspects of the paper–supervising the photo, graphic arts and page design departments. He also will play a major role in the redesign of the newspaper, a pioneer in pagination.

Later, after one of the three AMEs left the paper, I would assume responsibilities for the features sections and the Sunday editions.

In addition to the press release, there was a nice note in the newsroom’s newsletter, EN.  I like the small personal touch which talked about my interest in cooking.

Technology Leadership at The Arizona Republic

One of my roles at The Arizona Republic was to run the information technology department.  One of my important responsibilities was to make the case internally and externally for investment in equipment and services.

In April 1997, I did a “Technology Leadership” presentation.  I’m not sure who was in the audience.  I laid out our plans for the future on two information pillars:

Two types of information technology support our organization
1. Business and financial applications
* Advertising, finance, circulation support systems
2. News and information applications
* Editorial and other content, regardless of delivery method

I concluded with the idea that all of this spending is needed to build “strong technology foundations for the future.”

Covering the Big Story: Pope Visits Phoenix

On September 14, 1987, as a part of his whirlwind tour of the United States, Pope John Paul II visited Phoenix.  It was one of the biggest news events that The Arizona Republic and its sister newspaper, The Phoenix Gazette, would cover during my career at the newspaper.  In Tempe, he held Mass for 75,000 at Sun Devil Stadium.  As a way of celebrating successful coverage the papers jointly produced a special section about how they covered the event.  From the opening story:

The Pope is coming to Phoenix. Those six words, spoken more than a year ago, launched a herculean effort by the state’s two largest newspapers, The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette, to cover Pope John Paul II’s visit on Sept. 14, 1987. The goal was to capture the essence of the man and his effect on the city and those who saw him.

The task enveloped not only the Republic and Gazette newsrooms and such support services as the Library, Photo Lab and Promotion Department, but also Production, Circulation and Security.

What I like most about this special section was seeing all of the faces from the Republic newsroom and reading this list of managers at both newspapers.

Phoenix Newspapers Inc. publishes Arizona’s largest newspapers, The Arizona Republic and The Phoenix Gazette. Pat Murphy is publisher of both papers. The newsrooms are competitive. The Republic is a morning newspaper with a daily circulation of 343, 723 and a Sunday circulation of 539,323.

Alan Moyer is managing editor: Coordinating the papal coverage were Assistant Managing Editors Howard Armstrong, Howard I. Finberg and Robert Franken. Tom Bauer served as special sections editor. The Gazette, an afternoon newspaper, has a daily circulation of 111,253. Lynne Holt is managing editor. Coordinating papal coverage were Assistant Managing Editor / News Administration Mickey Hirten, City Editor Mike McGrevey and Photo Editor Mary Ann Nock. Nock also was special sections editor.

Running Technology at Phoenix Newspapers

In early 1997 I took on the assignment of running Phoenix Newspaper’s technology department for an 18 to 24-month period.  The goal was to bring some of my strategic thinking to the daily operational aspects of the department.

Here’s what John Oppedahl, PNI’s publisher and chief executive officer is quoted in the Arizona Republic story about the announcement:

“In essence,” he said, “we are restructuring the information services department to address some of our operational challenges and provide better service to all PNI departments.”

Here’s what I said:

“I’ve had the strategic view of technology and its importance to the company…The goal now is to get us in a position to go into the next century, and to use technology to better serve our customers.”

Customers, always the key to success.

Mario Garcia on The Arizona Republic Redesign

The Arizona Republic’s redesign was an interesting exercise in trying to find a way to please a publisher who had the dream of making The Republic a New York Times-style  newspaper.  That meant he wanted a subdued approach to headlines and design and NO color.  Putting it in positive terms: classic design.

When the publisher of The Arizona Republic, Pat Murphy, commissioned me to redesign his newspaper, he had brought to our discussion a clearly defined blueprint of what he wanted his newspaper to look like: “Make it elegant,” he said. “Also let it look like a classic, reliable newspaper, one that readers will feel comfortable and safe with.”

Truthfully, I hated it.  Mario Garcia didn’t care for it either. He was very kind in an article he wrote for Newspaper Techniques, the monthly newsletter of IFRA.  He was also said some very kind things about me.

The Arizona Republic, is totally paginated (triple-I), which facilitated the idea of a half-column concept. Into the third month of the redesign, the newspaper hired an assistant managing editor for graphics, Howard Finberg, who came from The San Francisco Chronicle, and had served as graphics editor of The Chicago Tribune, as well. With his impressive credentials and experience, he became a full partner in the process, refining the use of informational graphics, guiding the every day logistics of the redesign, and hiring new designers for the different sections.