Final Posting - The Underground

The Underground has printed its final issue for the semester. The bulk of the setup, redesign and policy implementation has been completed. Although there have been one or two instances where proposed tasks have not been ompleted there have also been several suprises. Here is a final look at what was accomplished over the semester in comparison with stated objectives.

Office Hardware/Software
i)The office network is functioning as expected. A couple of the old PC machines have made for some difficult file transfer and 'optimus' has died completely. However, all Macintosh computers and laptop ports (Mac or PC) have been functioning well.
ii)The file structuring system has been developed to a mature state. Textual files are put in a 'original' folder, there are then moved to a first edit folder and finally a second edit folder. Source files are dividedby story and optimized images are moved to an 'images' folder.

Online
i)Printed material has been updated to online in good time all semester.
ii)It is unknown whether online traffic has increased. A focus will be made over second semester to increase traffic and initiate online advertising.
iii)Several of the progressive online techniques have not yet been implemented. The staff login is in progress. An Alpha version can be seen at:

http://the-underground.ca/html/login/
User Name:JohnLoerchner
Password:1234

This displays the article assignment and the upload options. Camera signouts and e-mail communication will follow.
A flash intor is currently in the works and a site redesign is also inprogress. These will both be implemented by the time we return in January. Online content has been succesfull with a constant flow of exclusive reviews etc. However there is a need to use more images. I am not sure how this will work out. I am looking for advice on how to incorporate images into a database in order to create a dynamic page layout strategy.

Print
i)Distribution points have been increased from 6 to 11 and negotiations for further points are in the works.
ii)We are currently moving approximately 3000 issues per printing as opposed to last years 800 and above the projected 2400.
iii)Feedback on the look and feel of the redesign has generally been positive. Quality criticism is difficult to come by but is always welcome.
iv)Spelling and grammatical mistakes are at a minimum. Very near or below the projected 10-12/issue.

Management
i)Many staff are now familiar with the procedures used to produce an issue. Deryck Ramcharitar and Louis Selmeci are currently being trained to take over Gordon Lane and my positions respectively.
ii)The SCSP has been reformed and regular meetings will begin next semester.

Advertising
i)Internal ad design has been effective although minimal. Advertisiments have been designed for Withrow's Pub, The Kilt and The Fossil and Haggis. Several redesigns have also been used.
ii)Local advertisign revenue for the first semester is approximately $9800. Last years annual revenue was approximately $8000. An increase of approximately 250%.
iii)Online advertising has not yet begun. There has been growing interest and a major campaign to begin next semester should get things started.


The growth implemented over the past four months has been an exciting challenge with many rewards. I look forward to improving The Underground over the next semester and leaving behind something to be proud of.

John Loerchner

Weekly update #3 (casual)

The sixth issue (issue 05) was completed last night (or rather early this morning). This is the second issue of the this sixth that there were no post script errors, broken links, or any other reason for there to be printing problems during the printing process. Which means the printer didn't have to call me for any follow up. I have found that it takes a great deal of care to put out an error free PDF that is so highly involved. However, I have managed to put together a set of procedures that seems to be fairly effective in eliminating most potential problems (If anybody has a red and white book I'd love to borrow it).

John

Weekly Update #2

The Underground as whole is beginning to solidify and take shape. The methods used to put the paper itself have been brought to a point that production time has nearly halved since the first issue (the addition of Louis on layout has helped immensely). However the proper implementation of file structuring across the network is working out very well. The process of updating the website and working out the advanced components is now my main focus. Today I was able to meet with my accountant and the budget, although previousy a potential issue, is now looking good. In order to balance each issue will be exactly 20 pages. Previous 28 page issues where a bit too costly and some of the writing quality was not up to par. In order to give writers a fair chance the amount of exclusive online material will be increased. Hence the need to focus on site updates (create a database).

Mike Guglietti is currently working on the advanced site components which were detailed when we met on Tuesday (schematics to follow shortly). We are in need of CGI, PHP, Javascript and mostly SQL programmers in order to make deadline.
-Any broken links have been fixed and a strategy to keep them up to date has been planned (we just need the manpower)
-I will be doing a complete online layout overhaul within the next two weeks, including the article navigation on the right side of the page that allows the users to search through articles of this years issues without reloading the page
-The total amount of images within the articles will be increased (banner sizes will also be decreased to 100px from 153px)

Goal / Objective completion to date: (Article 2.5 of project plan)
Hardware/Software
-The network stability within the office is good. However the older PCs are sometimes difficult to work with. A method of connecting laptops needs to be posted. A fine tuning of all networking, simplification for users and posting will be put up on Friday the 12th.

Online
-Synchronization of online material is generally kept up. Rarely are any articles posted any more than 24 hours after the issue hits stands
-Exclusive online material is beyond what was originally planned

Print
-There are currently 11 distribution points from the original 6. Negotiations with The Independent (U of T paper) are in progress to get more downtown points. In return The Independent will be distributing at UTSC . There will be a meeting with the Toronto Star next week in order to increase points within UTSC.
-Grammatical and spelling mistakes are on target.

Advertising
-Several ads have been designed by the Underground team
-Advertising increases have not yet been calculated but are well beyond 200% from last year
-There are negotiations with Campus Plus to start online advertising although they are moving slowly
-I intend to launch a major campaign within Scarborough after the christmas break

John Loerchner

Part 1 Project Plan

I have a meeting with my technical director today so I should be able to finish up my scope table by tomorrow. As well I'm hoping to meet real soon with my accountant in order to draw up a budget. Until then here is my description parts.

John Loerchner Project Plan
The Underground

Scope Statement

2.2 Description
The Undergroundis the University of Toronto at Scarborough Campus student paper. Throughout the school year of '04/'05 the format, design style, and website will be completely revamped. Dynamic and interactive componenets will be added to the website in order to increase hits and functionality. Circulation, readership and ad revenue of the paper will be increased by at least %200.


2.3 Project Overview
I have divided the workload of The Underground into six definitive groups:

i-Office setup
Consists of setting up equipment currently owned by The Underground in its new office in the Student Centre as well as purchasing and installing the necessary hardware and software to bring The Underground office up to date. This includes networking workstations and ensuring the proper media devices are available to the staff

ii-Production of basic website
The original foundation of the site will be created using HTML in Adobe GoLive in order to have a revamped site available to the student body upon the arrival of the first printed issue. The design of the site will be original and the information architecture will be altered in order to provide a more convenient interface. As the year progresses The site will function in a more dynamic manner and the HTML coding will be minimized.

iii-Production of advanced web components
There are several extra components that will slowly be added onto the original site. A dynamic PHP photo gallery which allows students to purchase or request the removal of photographs will be the first addition. Extra galleries will be added as stories which deserves such galleries appear.
Contests will be added to the sign with give away promotional items The Underground receives the first being a dictionary giveaway and the second being a 4CD collection The Hip Hop Box. Appropriate contests will be created for each.
A staff login will be created using multiple languages (javascript, PHP, SQL) in order to organize staff assignments, source material, e-mail, and media devices. Editors will be able to put stories in a “Article Box” which writers can subsequently take off if they choose to write it. Many stories require a camera or audio recorder. To make these available to the staff when needed or to prevent double bookings a media signout form with a dynamic graphical display of reserved times will be written. Writers will finally be able to upload their photographs and stories through a “browse” upload option in order to allow for simplified external file transfers.
Finally a flash intro will be created in order to hype the finished site and bring more readers to the online world of The Underground. This will be twenty to thirty second intro using 3-D graphics created in bryce. It will informs viewers of the new additions to the site and encourage them to further explore The Underground website.

iv-Source content collection
There will be a strong emphasis on increasing the quantity and quality of written and visual content. The visual elements will include photographic and visual aids (charts, shortboxi layouts) to accompany written content. The photographic elements will be edited within Photoshop and applied throughout print, online articles, as online headers, and within galleries. Articles that satisfy time, length and relevancy restrictions as well as meeting quality standards based on the CPii guidelines will be seen in print. These articles will also be placed online and some articles which do not meet certaint time, length, or relevancy restrictions but meet certain quality standards will be posted as exclusive online material.

v-Print layout and redesign
The paper format will be changed to a sheet fed full bleed printing format while maintaining the 22” x 14” flat paper size. Paper quality will be switched to a 40 pound bleached white regular paper. The layout method and style of the paper will redesigned in order to better accommodate the new format and office setup.
In order for multiple layout artists to be working at once the Macintosh systems will be networked and working files will exist on the hard drive of the motheriii computer. Artists working on other machines will work with a duplicate InDesign file within the same folder level on the mother machine. Working graphical and textual files will not be duplicate and external links within working InDesign files will be identical.
A new set of layout rules will be created based on CP guidelines and predominately on successful methods found in a wide variety of like and unlike publications. These rules will be used to assist in the biweekly layout of the paper.

vi-Management and training
The Underground staff currently consists of a senior executive, and editor in chief, seven textual editors, four technical assistants and eight staff writers. There are also several graphical editors, photographers, and article contributors who assist at times. Due to a lack of photographers the onus is often on the writers to collect photographs themselves.
Several measures will be taken in order to create a coherent goal of method and style among the staff. A full staff meeting will be held at the beginning and end of each semester as well monthly editors meetings will be held. At these meeting we will discuss the goals of The Underground and encourage open conversation about ethical guidelines and responsibility/accountability to the student population. In addition predetermined static stylistic methods (document formatting, image resolution etc.) will be dictated to the staff. Details on how to use a temporary FTP server, the cameras and voice recorder will be presented. However, further training and future questions will be encouraged. The following training will also be provided:
-A tutorial on how to use the Olympus 5060 and advanced photography techniques (macro, multiple exposures, time lapse, lighting, etc.) will be offered
-New graphical editors will be trained on Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign as needed
-Online editors will be trained in GoLive as needed
-Layout artists will be trained in inDesign as needed
-All staff will be trained on file management, OS, and network communication

2.4 HistorySince 1980 The Underground it has been funded by a direct levy from the student body through student affairs. Due to mismanagement over the past five years the SCSPiv collapsed in '98/'99, distribution points were pulled from all satellite campuses and distribution has fallen under 1000 issues. In '03/'04 the paper went from a weekly to a biweekly paper. John Loerchner has taken over with the intention of putting SCSP and The Underground on a regenerative path while dramatically increasing the final production quality.

2.5 ObjectivesOffice Hardware/Software
i-To provide a stable work environment for writers and designers with the necessary hardware and software to complete required tasks on time.
ii-To create a productive and adaptive file structuring system that allows for easily updatable file organization and simplified archive searching.

Online
i-To maintain a site that publishes articles in sync with printed material as well as consistently update with new online material.
ii-To increase online traffic.v
iii-To become one of the most progressive online multimedia sources in Canada based on a student paper.
iv-To produce an additional 20% of exclusive online material. (3-6 articles/issue + 5-10 images)

Print
i-To increase distribution points by 200%. (from 6 to 12)
ii-To increase total distibution by 300%. (from 800 to 2400)
iii-To create an aesthetically unique and highly regarded student publication.
iv-To reduce grammatical and spelling mistakes by a minimum of 90% (From approx. 100/issue to approx. 10/issue) and to increase overall writing quality.

Management
i-To train the nineteen new staff and three returning on all relevant newly implemented procedures, hardware, and software.
ii-To create a stable work environment with properly trained individuals who can subsequently train new staff to meet the high standards of The Underground.
iii-To resurrect the governing body (SCSP) and increase accountability.

Advertising
i-To offer internal advertisement design to clients in order to increase advertising sales.
ii-To increase annual advertising revenue by %350.
iii-To introduce online advertising.

2.6 Target Audience
Primary Audience
The primary audience for The Underground are UTSC students ages 18 – 23. Content will be selected in order to adapt to the interests of the wide spectrum of demographies within the school. However, the heaviest focus will fall on Toronto and campus life/events and the arts.

Secondary Audience
The secondary audience is the faculty at UTSC and subsequently the University of Toronto faculty. This will be focused on Journalism and New Media related professors however it is important that The Underground becomes widely respected throughout the University of Toronto in order to gain overall credibility.


Endnotes

i)Shortbox – defines a “box” that exists separate from an article but containing information that directly relates to it. It may take on several forms depending on how the information can most appropriately be organized.

ii)Canadian Press – The journalistic standards for Canada as produced by a multitude of Canadian publishers.

iii)The “mother” computer is referred to as such because the implemented network is an office network. There is no client/server setup and technically speaking no computer takes predominance. However the Dual 2.0 G5 (Adenine) will be consider the “server” machine for practical purposes.

iv)Scarborough Campus Students' Press – The governing body which The Underground, UT Pulse, and Scarborough Fair where once held accountable to. SCSP, UTPulse and Scarborough Fair have since collapsed (Scarborough Fair was resurrected in '03/'04 independently of the SCSP council).

iv)Proving increased traffic will be impossible given that passed online traffic was not properly logged.











Original Proposal

NMED01H3 - Course Proposal
By John Loerchner


Contents
Introduction
The Team
Site Components
Deadlines
Conclusion

Introduction
I would like to put the better part of my involvement with The Underground towards my New Media Senior project. The majority of my responsibilities this year are directly relevant to the New Media industry. Many are indirectly related activities such as leadership and general management which are involved in any industry.
I intend to include a certain "hands on" portion where I am working directly with the common tools of New Media. However, I would like the project management and creative direction of The Underground as a whole to be a significant portion of my course work.


The Team
I am currently in the process of assembling a capable staff that can assist me in the production of both the final paper and the website. My strongest affiliation is with the online and graphic design crew. However I am heavily related with the editor in chief and sub-editors. Although staff writers are more distanced from me I will be creating tutorials so that they can keep up to date on issues such as working the cameras, uploading files and checking online for story assignments.

Online and Print Production

Online Editor
Candace Lee

Technical Director
Mike Guglietti

Assistant Production
James Relunia

Graphic Designers
Sikandar Aftab
Villie Tsang
Alan

Written Content

Editor in Chief
Gordon Lane

News Editor
Deryck Ramcharitar

Associate News Editor
Phuong Nguyen

Life Editor
Dayna Boyer

Arts Editor
Gus Constantinou

Sports Editor
Darren Lewi

Copy and
Research Editor
Vanessa Larkey

Events Editor
Eleni Kanavas

Accounting Manager
George Charocopos

Distribution Manager
Gurbir Perhar

Staff Writers
Stefania Lamacchia, Jennifer Murray, Daniel Moore, Jeannette Rabito, Rosalyn Solomon, Uriel Mendoza, Shivani Malik, Jason Jajalla, Christopher Jay Looi


This list is still in flux.








Site Components

Online student publications within UTSC have struggled over the past few years. The relatively high percentage of online users is still a fresh occurrence. As a result there is no proper history of student preference to draw from. Proper market research is beyond the scope of this project. I would like to work in a highly adaptive manner as opposed to creating a static outline to be filled out.
I would like to begin this site as a basic and highly navigable HTML setup that develops into a more complex structure with a far broader span of functionality. Site components or infrastructure would evolve based on user needs with a maximum amount of transparency. The intention is that this constant addition will produce users who return to the site. Thus building a solid user foundation for future years.
In response to staff, financial and user needs I would propose the following major components:

Staff Sign In
-Password protected user logins
-Allows for reservation of photography and audio equipment (while preventing double booking)
-Story assignments can be posted and reserved
-Provide interface to upload files

Advertising Sign In
-Password protected user login
-Display advertising information such as pricing and formatting
-Allow advertisers to book ads online
-provide an interface for advertisers to upload ads to a drop box
-Display advertisers account information

Interactive Elements
-Highly interactive and engaging methods of packaging (mostly static) information

The sign in sections are my current priority as they will streamline the office workflow and centralize information. The interactive elements are user based concepts that will evolve out of content produced throughout the year.
The first interactive project is a compilation of the history of construction and interesting historical facts on UTSC campus. This will be built in a flash interface. Other projects will include interactive timelines, video clips, dynamic slideshows etc. The proper medium will be chosen to best display the information that must be put forth.
There are other elements of work that are New Media related that may or may not be site related that must also be considered. They are as Follows:



Source Graphic Elements
-Photography collection and organization (Many thousands of files expected)
-Original digital and analog graphics
-official documents
-chart and graphical displays of data
-hand drawings and paintings; their acquisition and subsequent digital manipulation

Graphic Design
-General aesthetic manipulation of source files
-User interface elements (buttons etc.)
-Commissioned advertisement design of print and web ads
-Page formatting and layout


Deadlines
Proposed Deadlines
-Biweekly updates of photographs and textual content to coincide with issue printing
-Minimum monthly updates of interactive/ major new elements
-Bulk of site completion by end of term


Conclusion
The flexibility, speed and mass work potential of cutting edge web development tools allow for the creation of a highly adaptive marketing tool. This project is a highly flexible approach to meeting market demand; minimizing work force and maximizing the final reception of the end product. The broad scope of media lends itself to my personal background experience and future goals within the New Media industry. I look forward to working towards the goals I have set forward as well as forming the foundation of an online media presence for UTSC.

Weekly Update #1

There have been several things accomplished to date. So far the work has leaned
heavily toward administration. Now that things are beginning to get rolling I
hope to be able to get myself more involved in the creative aspects.

The Office Setup:
With the help of James Relunia and Mike Guglieti the office is nearly setup.
Four macs, three PC's three laptop docks and a laser printer have been networked
on a four port hub with firewall capabilities hooked to a switch. Currently
there is only one working ethernet port in the office so all computers are
running through that.

An account has been created on ixwebhosting.com with the URL the-underground.ca
registered. In order to make remote file exchange possibly an FTP drobbox has
been setup.
ftp://web21.ixwebhosting.com
user:
pass:
This has been working fairly well although some staff who are not familiar with
FTP have been having some problems. This FTP will be superceded by a HTML
interface with a "browse/upload" setup. (The next coding project)

All computers are running OpenOffice as a consistent word Processor. The Macs
all have the Adobe CS suite installed. The G5 is also running Flash MX and Final
cut Express.

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The Paper
To date I have managed to find some scattered help although this Thanksgiving
weekend production it is falling a little short. Villie Tsang assisted in
Photoshop work on the last issue and Louis Selmeci has come in to assited in
Layout for issue 02 and 03. Louis was familiar with Quark and Photoshop so I
have been training him on InDesign as we do layout.


The source photography being collected is mostly shot by staff writers and
editors. I have had several people express interest in photography although
actually sending one on assignment with a writer has rarely panned out. As a
result I have also being training several of the writers how to use the cameras
and more importantly the fundamentals of taking good photographs. Some have
improved signifigantly however I have had several staff inform me that they're
still really confused. I plan to put together a 2 hour tutorial ASAP. We are
currently working with around 1200 - 2000 images / issue(The first issue was
around 5000).

The layout with final proofing included has been working out to approximately 40
- 50 hours / issue. Photo Selection and editing is approx. 30 - 40 hours /
issue. This all happens of the Saturday and Sunday and Monday after content is
in on Friday. However, we have managed to streamline the process and are putting
out what I believe to be a tighter paper in less time. This most recent issue
(i03) is probably the most throughly worked design/layout so far.

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The Site

The site has been updated on  regular basis. New material has been put up by the
day of release and exclusive online material has been consistently added.
Candace Lee has been working with Cindy Leung for the bulk of the HTML updating.
Some extra photos are also being posted that do not appear in print but I am
trying to get more up.

The frosh gallery php and cgi was written by Mike Guglietti and formatted by
Candace. It allows for the student body to purchase photos with a real time
javascript calculation of their cost.

We are also in the process of putting together contests. We are giving away two
copies of the Canadian Oxford dictionary via a limerick contest and will soon
have a match artist name to song title contest for a 4 CD hip hop box set. We
will soon be getting promo materials from Disney/Pixar for "The Incredibles" so
the contest section will most likely always have something going on. I plan to
begin shortly on the staff login setup. I have also started on a flash intro.
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There's more but this is getting too long.
Future updates will be shorter.

John Loerchner