University of South Carolina Libraries
HT BY MARTt TP: //WWW n ^ . , L/lbl I Alia hotop /n this age of advanced science and technology an increased number of students are getting on the Internet and surfing the World Wide Web. Those familiar with these computer concepts have access to information and discussion groups that computer-illiterate people can't use. Online newspapers and magazines are among the informative resources available to Internet-users. This year the University of South Carolina established its own student we publication. It allows students to logon and quickly access information about the university and its student body. Through the efforts of a small group of dedicated students, it's now possible to access The Gamecock newspaper online, via the World Wide Web. LdM &U1IUUC1, ivyaii oiuis auu ixauc^ Salmonsky first discussed the idea of putting The Gamecock online. Sims said that he was working on his second degree at the time, and he saw the project as a way to combine two of his talents, graphic design and computers. Salmonsky was working on an independent study involving online work. Over the summer, Sims researched other schools and institutions that have online newspapers. It was during this time that Sims first told Susan Goodwin about the project. Goodwin, assistant editor of Gamecock Online became interested in the project after hearing Sims's plans. "Ryan was so excited about the project that at one point I asked him, 'do you think I could do this, too?'," Goodwin said. At the time of their conversation, Goodwin was participating in an internship program with the Los Aneeles Times. She used the last Dart of her internship to work with the Times Link, which is the Los Angeles Times's online counterpart. She spent time learning more about going online and the amount of work involved in producing an online paper. In July, Sims and Salmonsky pitched their project to Chris Carroll, director of Student Media. Carroll liked the idea and told the staff to find out what they would need in order to establish an online newspaper. However, when classes started in August, the Gamecock Online was faced with the lack of the necessary equipment and no server. The trio initially hoped the Alumni Association would help fund the project. "The alumni association was beginning a large 4Vvv fUo utk/\la lintlfarothf PA Alir nrAIDAt laiiijjaigu IUI uit wiiuit umvtiaiij, au wui piyjtti wasn't a priority. They said that if they came across extra money they would help," Goodwin said. After being unable to find assistance through the alumni association, the online staff looked for other options. The unused student activity fees provided . fiAM'Fr.nr.t T A If/ A . i/VK UUI the financial assistance the group needed to continue the project. "If it hadn't been for the extra student activity fees, we wouldn't be here right now," Goodwin JWiU. The Gamecock Online received a total of $4,000 from student activity fees. They used the money to purchase aserver, scanner and work computer. To facilitate producing the paper, Sims and Goodwin brought their personal computers to the online newsroom. I hile the trio was learning more about online design over the summer, they found a home f page for the Pointer Institute. On the home page, there was information about a conference on "new media." Sims wrote to the Pointer Institute and convinced them to fund the tuition for the online staff to attend the conference. At the conference, the staff learned more about how to establish an online paper and prepare the material for it. "Online papers are often seen as second rate," Goodwin said. "We really wrestle with issues, writing, how to deal with the new medium and package the articles." While at the conference, the online staff had the opportunity to work with people in the professional world, who were also learning about online newspapers. "It was nice to see professionals in the field who were floundering more than we were," said Sims. "They treated [the conference] as a serious problem to solve; they'll need younger blood like us in the future." Discovering how to re-package the material has been another problem for the online staff. When transferring the written stories from the program used in the print version, most of the typefaces aren't possible online. In the print version of the paper, a layout is considered visually appealing because of the variety of fonts available. However, on the WEB, there are only two typefaces available. Additionally, the online program can't scan several articles at once. The reader must scroll down the page and read articles one at a time. A major part of the re-packaging effort is determining how to i i: ja(W,;nrt nw>A aooi IIldKC U1C UllilllC page giapiliCOiijr pieaaiug anu waaier to read. The Gamecock Online staff has also managed to overcome several technical obstacles relating to the actual production and transcription of the page. Prior to January, there was no program at USC to transfer the material from Quark, the program used by the Gamecock, to the form needed for an online newspaper. It was in January that Matt Hooper, a computer science major, started working for the Gamecock Online. Hooper wrote a program that Is c. sr.. Fnu ESN'T 11 H W ^ M II f | M-W m X0K% .VAW.V.V.V Si Si < / ?g 1 i i *s i 1 is ,S>- 'Si. BS is mmw w?? interacts with the page layout application that the print people use. Sims said that Hooper built the scripts and applications by hand so that the process now runs smoothly. With the help of Hooper's program, the 1- /~v-i:? 1 ?ui? UailltXUCK UIIUJIC IS UUW auIC IU IjUllmjr tuinui the print version of the Gamecock to Web format. The process of actually laying out the online page each night is one that often doesn't start until the print version of The Gamecock is almost complete, usually around 10 p.m. It is only after the print version has been layed-out on the computer, that the Gamecock Online staff can start setting up the next day's edition. As students log onto the Internet and visit the Gamecock Online page, they'll notice the extensive use of graphics. There is a screen featuring a colorful map of the Columbia area and a flying pig. The map is divided into seven different areas for the reader to visit. Under each area is a listing of restaurants, shops and businesses. Each area offers some information on the places listed. Besides the map, one will find a number of articles on the site. For many of the news articles, links to other sites on the Internet have been created. By clicking on the link, the reader can go to a site on the Internet that has a related article, graphic or picture. Reading the online articles, one notices a difference in basic style. "Pieces must be written with the medium in mind; the best sites understand that and work with it," Goodwin said. Besides being less formal, online writing tend to be shorter. Goodwin considers it a paradox that online there is an unlimited amount of space, but the articles must be shorter because people read 25% less online. .f ::or those who are interested in reading the uamecocK unnne, out aren i very iamiuar with the Internet, there is a help section acces. sible from any page on the site. Through the help section, one can learn a little background information about the World Wide Web and the Internet, which aren't the same thing. The World Wide Wei is a subset of the Internet. The help section also includes information for those who are new to the Gamecock Online and a section providing informa tion about the services offered by computer services. It is possible to access the Gamecock Online from any terminal on campus that is connected to the Internet. Students can also access it from their rooms if they have Netscape or TinCan. However, those using TinCan are only able to retrieve the tex and not the graphic images. The Gamecock Online address is http://www.gamecock.sc.eduy.