The story of Arizona Central is not unlike that of other newspaper web sites.

In 1995, a handful of newsroom staff was moved to a separate room to develop an online product, says Judy Nichols, an online editor for the Arizona Republic / Arizona Central.

Their first attempts included posting information on America Online. Over the years, the site has blossomed into a full-fledged interactive website that offers users nuances like audio and video that enhance even the most skilled print reports.

In 1998, after 15 years in the newsroom, Nichols joined the online operation as an online editor, a new position posted in the newsroom. She participates in news meetings and news strategy sessions and suggests such online enhancements as video, audio, and supplemental documents to expand news stories.

"The only way to be there, is to be there." Nichols says of her newsroom role. "I can watch them and they can watch me and remember me."

Arizona Central has created an impressive library of RealVideo clips. Clockwise from left, the funeral of police officer Mark Atkinson; a Hopi wedding narrated by the groom; Native American Aging, a web-only production; Cooking 201 -- How to make a carrot flower.

The projects

By learning to pool resources, both the online and print products have benefitted. With careful cultivation, the newsroom has become an integral part of getting breaking news and projects online, Nichols says.

They showed sports fans what they would see from their seats at a Diamondback game, a technique she believes would also work for theater seating.

A recent story about 'N Sync ran with one photo, but online, the story had audio clips, links, a discography, and more photos. The print edition referred to the web extras.

Animated gifs have been used to create slide shows for works of art works, as well as maps such as this one tracking the build up of ozone over nine hours.

Your Online Desk in the "Main" Newsroom

You need a big dog in the newsroom: Non-traditional power and authority can get some things done, but if you want to move faster, you need someone high up the food chain expressing interest.

Location, location, location: Find a piece of prime real estate in the newsroom and homestead it. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder; it's out of sight, out of mind.

Follow the swarm: If you want to cross-pollinate, find the beehive. The buzzing starts long before anyone puts the story on the budget.

Teach a reporter to fish or be helpful, but don't bring them coffee: When someone brings you a document to post, ask them if they can get it electronically. When they need to send a graphic but don't know how to attach it to an e-mail, show them. Don't become a typing service.

Have a plan, not just a person: Set up policies and procedures that will work if you get hit by a bus tomorrow. No one can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And everyone in your department will move on in six months anyway.

Play to your strengths: Put people where they're happy and let them work.

Get invited to the party: Find out when their planning meetings are and attend. Ask reporters to include you on road trips to get video or audio. Find out about predictable events and set up expectations for filing. (Use your big dog if you have to.) Go to lunch with reporters.

A brick at a time: Show them how to report incrementally. First a bulletin, then a headline and one sentence, then two, then four paragraphs, then a photo, then a longer story, then an updated version.

The medium is not the message: The content is. The information needs to be interesting whether it's text, audio, video, or Ipix. Show them something they haven't seen or heard.

Bless the believer, but don't stone the sinner: Identify people who "get it" and work with them as much as possible. But don't write off non-believers. We all get web religion at a different pace.

Give something back: Use the site as a reporting tool. Help reporters get information, sources, ideas. Offer space. "Can't get that sidebar in the paper? We'll post it."

Spread the word: Promote your online efforts in the paper and on the site. And show people in the building when you've done something nice. If you have a verbal or written critique or in-house publication, make sure online efforts get praised. Name names.

Get Zen: Relax. You can never do everything you want. You can never have enough people or equipment. You can never convert everyone in the newsroom. You will never have enough time. Do what you can and be happy.

See also:

• A multimedia reporting exercise.
• Equipment in use at Arizona Central.