The editor of the News & Record (Greenboro, North Carolina, USA) writes in his excellent blog:
The feng shui newsrooms
Back in the day, newsrooms were messy, smoky, noisy places.
Notorious packrats, reporters piled notepads, copy paper and newspapers on every available surface and sometimes on unavailable surfaces.
Ashtrays were emptied only when something pushed them off a desk and onto the floor.
In the day before computers, reporters and editors clacked out stories on Royal and Underwoods, creating the respectable din of work in progress.
The air smelled of printer’s ink and raw newsprint.
Cubicles didn’t exist.
Desks lined up so that you could cross a room the size of a basketball court without touching the floor.
The linoleum floor, by the way.
It was wonderful. And, aside from the occasional messy reporter, it’s history.
Juan Antonio Giner has posted photos of newsrooms around the world. For newspaper junkies, they’re worth a look at how the fourth estate works.
Thank you for the mention. I love your site, and your presentation to the Landmark editors back in September. I am sorry I didn’t post a photo of our newsroom. Will try to pull that together on Monday when there are a few more people there.
Best.