The Philadelphia Inquirer's Transformation - Innovating Print and Digital Publishing with Roxen

The Philadelphia Inquirer, a renowned historical newspaper, defies industry norms by investing significantly in its print edition to enhance its value. By implementing Roxen's new production system, the publication has saved time during the production process, streamlined workflows, introduced bolded content and improved design elements to enhance the reader experience. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer, a multiple Pulitzer Prize winner, is the third oldest continuously operating daily newspaper in the US. It remains one of the largest daily newspapers in the country, with over 13.3 million readers monthly across platforms. Despite facing challenges in its daily workflow, the number of readers continues to trend upward. 

One of the biggest challenges is their more than 20-year-old production system for paper and online newspapers.

"It was based on outdated technology, and the frustration of working in it grew among employees. Multiple tasks that needed to be performed manually made it difficult for us to effectively maintain the high level of content that characterizes The Philadelphia Inquirer," says Matt Boggie, Chief Technology and Product Officer at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

At that point, the Philadelphia Inquirer had already replaced its current CMS system. The pandemic and the shift to remote work made it even more pressing for them to transition from their self-hosted layout tool to a print system that could provide a more advanced and efficient production process.

In addition, they were also searching for a solution that integrates with Adobe InDesign, enabling enhanced visual storytelling opportunities while automating repetitive tasks for employees.

"The overarching goal was efficiency. We asked ourselves, 'How can we make sure that we're making the best use of our creative talents' time?' If we can reduce the amount of time it takes to put together the paper, that will allow them to focus more on the design itself and create great layouts combining text, illustrations, and interesting infographics. Today's readers have higher expectations on how these elements should complement each other to enhance the message, "says Matt Boggie.

The Philadelphia Inquirer found an effective solution with Roxen's cloud-based system for creating and publishing editorial content. In addition to meeting their needs, they also appreciated Roxen's pre-built templates, which streamline the process of preparing articles, including images and graphics, for publication online or in print with just a few clicks.

Daniel Wressle, Roxen's Chief Operations Officer and project manager for The Philadelphia Inquirer project, believes that the automated writing templates, developed with the Norwegian Templating and workflow agency TikkTakk, are a big part of Roxen's efficiency.

One of the goals that The Philadelphia Inquirer set when switching to Roxen ́s print system was to use the paper edition format more boldly.

"We save literal minutes per story, given how much faster it is to work with the new system. So, we've been taking a lot of the time saved and investing back into the product. Today our readers see something that is much more thoughtful and frankly fun to read every day," says Matt Boggie.

The printed version of The Philadelphia Inquirer still contributes a large portion of the annual revenue. Still, there is a noticeable decline in the number of newspapers sold as more people opt for digital subscriptions.

"There is still great value in the paper edition. In this way, we can give people a great product at a very reasonable production cost. Therefore, we can continue to run it profitably for longer than we might have had in the past," says Matt Boggie.

The Philadelphia Inquirer also produces a daily curated e-newspaper. Once again, Roxen's system has been essential in creating a product that meets readers' preferences and needs.

"Readers appreciate having access to a curated newspaper that presents the content in an appealing way with a clear beginning and end, unlike the web feed. But at the same time, some want to be able to choose where and when to consume the newspaper. The e-Edition allows us to combine the benefits of the layout of the paper with the accessibility of digitalization," says Matt Boggie.

Source: roxen.com