Interfax Global Services
News Management System NewsRoom IFX 2.0
Objectives
News Management System NewsRoom IFX 2.0 should be an integrated software solution for information and news management. The solution should be developed using the most advanced network technologies. The system should support the entire process from news creation by journalists in various languages and translation management, through the editing process in the news room, to profiling and grouping the content by various criteria and directing it to the proper electronic publications.
NewsRoom should have intuitive, easy to use user interface and guarantee simple access to the system from distant places. News editors and translators are located at various geographic locations in the world and they should have a possibility to log-in into the system and work effectively from they local offices as well as when travelling. Secure access to the system was also an important issue.
NewsRoom should provide different publication options, i.e. instant publication of news on-line, and arranging them into periodically produced services published at desired intervals (daily, weekly, or on some special occasions).
Methods
The news creation and management procedures at Interfax and objectives of the NewsRoom system were major reasons to create two types of users: News Editors and Publications Editors. News Editors group included editors, translators and their supervisors, all with appropriate access to the system and rights to edit and/or correct the news they have access to. Publications Editors of various electronic publications were responsible for creation of the publications and releasing them on the Internet.
The NewsRoom application was designed to allow use of the system on any computer with web browser and the Internet access. No part of the software needs to be installed on the computer. An ergonomic, intuitive interface supports easy use of the solution.
For various types of news (those downloaded from the Russian data base, written directly in English, short daily news, periodic summaries, etc.) different process flow was designed. It allows for editing the news, entering the corrections and hierarchical procedures of publication acceptance before going on-line. The administration module provides access to the information about production activities by journalists and management of contacts. The authorisation module has among its options management of granted access rights and modifying them.
Technologies
The development of the NewsRoom IFX 2.0 application was done using UML (Unified Modelling Language). The system was developed using J2EE technology and Oracle data base solutions. In the communication layer Hibernate software was used. Java servlets and JSP scripts were also used in the development of the software solution. The entire application was created using Struts framework to implement MVC (Model-View-Controller) methodology effectively. Access to the application is encrypted using SSL protocol.
Result
An integrated software solution NewsRoom IFX 2.0 for information management in news agencies was developed as a result of the project. The system supports effective work of large groups of journalists, translators and electronic publications’ editors. Modern design allows for intuitive work during the entire news creation and publication process and for use of the system from distant geographical locations on any computer with the Internet access.
Several information services’ templates were developed to create an on-line portal, weekly newsletters and special on-line publications using news stored in the NewsRoom data base. Applied cross-linking solutions in the publications provide easy access to rich external data base on companies and people, making Interfax on-line publications more attractive. Off-line publications can also be produced using the system.
Together with the NewsRoom application a subscribers’ management tool was developed for sales personnel to simplify management of subscribers and to provide easy access to the information on products they purchased, subscription deadlines, etc.
NewsRoom is a modern software application which makes news management easier and production of electronic publications faster and more effective.
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