THE world of newspapers is very different to the industry of just 30 years ago.
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Back then many newspaper offices had one just mobile phone to be shared among staff; photographs were shot on film and developed in a darkroom; a news wire clattered away in the corner of the office, spitting out reams and reams of paper carrying stories from around the world; and many papers had their own printing presses which shook the office to its foundations as it roared into action each evening.
The internet, email, smart phones and social media - all of which would dramatically change the way journalists worked and newspapers operated - were still years away.
Newspapers were generally printed late in the evening but once an edition had been "put to bed" at night, that was it. If a major story - indeed, any story - broke after deadline the newspaper had to wait another 24 hours to get that story to its readers.
Today, newspaper journalists work in the world of never-ending deadlines.
Newspapers' digital editions mean we can publish news as it happens, whenever it happens.
Websites allow newspaper journalists an immediacy in our reporting that was simply impossible just a single generation ago. But, as we were reminded last week, journalists must continue to resist the urge to prioritise being first with the news over being accurate with the news.
A metropolitan news site published last Thursday that NSW Health had "confirmed" a COVID-positive case in Bathurst, based on information taken from the organisation's website.
It was concerning news but it took just a single phone call from our staff to the Western NSW Health District to determine that the information on the website was incorrect, the result of a postcode data entry error in Sydney.
By publishing a story without double-checking the information, the website ran the risk of creating great panic in our city for no good reason.
The lesson is that it is OK for a newspaper to be second the news if it means the paper is able to provide the correct information its readers need, especially at this time.
That's not to say we won't make mistakes, everybody does.
But last week was a timely reminder that the key principles that applied in the past years of newspaper publishing still apply today, despite so many changes.
What do you think?
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