The Journal-Standard in Freeport, Ill., this month will begin using a new editorial front-end whose implementation was fueled by its parent’s purchase of a neighboring newspaper.

The GateHouse Media Inc.-owned Journal-Standard’s use of Saxotech Inc.’s Saxopress front-end software came about after GateHouse’s 2007 purchase of the Rockford (Ill.) Register Star, which has been using the system for more than three years, said Andrew Analore, editor for The Journal-Standard.

Upon the acquisition, The Journal-Standard shut down its presses and transferred production to the Register-Star, which is located about 25 miles away from Freeport.

“This summer we shut down our presses and started printing there and that’s how the whole Saxotech thing came about,” Analore said, adding that it made sense for The Journal-Standard to run the same front-end.

“We have a fiber optic connection and then here in Freeport we’ll install the software on new Dell computers to connect to the server” running Saxopress in Rockford, he said.

GateHouse’s purchase of the Register Star also fueled other operational changes at The Journal-Standard.

One of the most fundamental was the purchase of computers capable of generating PDFs, Analore said. Transferring production required PDF support, but the small daily didn’t possess a single computer that could create the document format.

“Our technology was all pre-1999,” Analore said. “Rockford had some spare Macintosh G4s, so we installed those here.”

That older technology also required The Journal-Standard to rely on Lotus Notes, primarily an e-mail app, for its editorial management.

After inheriting Rockford’s G4 computers, The Journal-Standard transitioned its editorial workflow to a mix of Microsoft Word and e-mail,  where reporters would write stories in Word and then e-mail them to the copy desk where they were edited and placed on the server. It was a better solution, Analore said, considering his newspaper was likely “the only one in the country still using Lotus Notes” to write and edit articles.

Analore said he welcomes the new technology.

“This will be a huge step forward for us in terms of having a state-of-the-art system that we can use.”

Adobe integrated

Because Saxopress integrates with Adobe InCopy and InDesign, Analore said reporters and editors will be able to see real-time views of stories, allowing more front-end management.

“Editors will see the stories in progress, but they’ll also see the page as it’s being built,” he said.

Everything associated with a particular story will flow into the app together, including photos and cutlines, allowing better tracking.

“You can really keep track of photos and the way they fit together with text,” he said. “It’s going to get us a lot closer to where we want to be — seeing content as packages, as opposed to individual stories.”

Having been live on Saxopress for more than three years, the Register Star laid most of the groundwork for The Journal-Standard’s 20-seat installation, which Analore said will allow his staff to focus on building its own forms and templates.

“We don’t need to build the workbench from the ground up, so to the extent that we can share that information back and forth, it makes our installation a lot easier.”

Easier, though Analore said The Journal-Standard’s install will be unique.

“Our workflow is a lot different from larger papers in terms of permissions and things because we are all in the same room with one person on the copy desk,” he said. “There’s a lot of verbal communication.”

UAE publisher taps Saxotech

Meantime, Saxotech said Abu Dhabi Media Co. of the United Arab Emirates will use its editorial software to power its startup national newspaper. The publisher’s English-language print and digital media properties, which have yet to be named, will use Saxotech’s integrated multichannel workflow and content management software to produce and share news and information, Saxotech said. “We are excited about having one system that can take us from the planning stage, through the production of the newspaper, publish us online, and archive our finished product,” said Laura Koot, spokesperson for Abu Dhabi Media.

With roots dating back to 1969, Abu Dhabi Media’s television, radio, publishing and online services reach millions of Arabs around the world.

The publisher will launch both its new print and digital media properties late Q1, Saxotech said.