EBU Technical Review : Editorial 282

EBU Technical Review : No. 282 (March 2000)

Electronic publishing

For the past couple of years, EBU Technical Review has been available in electronic format via the EBU's web site – as well as in the traditional paper format. But this is the first all-electronic issue of the Technical Review.

Why has the printed version been abandoned?

The Technical Review is highly regarded by EBU Members because of its high-quality content. Nevertheless, there have long been concerns about its cost. In particular, as the total circulation is less than 2,000 copies, the cost per copy distributed has been very high. The EBU Technical Committee felt that it was difficult to justify these costs and that it was necessary to find another solution which offered better value for money to EBU Members.

In the past, senior staff of EBU Members dominated the readership of the Technical Review. This group will remain an important target for the Technical Review in its new format, but I believe very strongly that the readership must be widened to include all levels of technical staff.

My determination on this matter was triggered by a personal experience more than 30 years ago. As a new and very junior recruit at a BBC transmitting station, I was summoned by the rather grand Engineer-in-Charge. During our conversation, I noticed that his bookcase contained many issues of the "EBU Review - Technical". Despite my lowly status, I summoned up the courage to ask whether I could borrow some of these journals. The Engineer-in-Charge responded immediately that it was an excellent journal – but he also added that he rarely had time to read them! I left his office proudly bearing an armful of issues of the "Review - Technical" – on the clear understanding that I had to return them promptly.

During the next few days, I eagerly devoured the articles – some of which were beyond my comprehension. Others, however, were an invaluable introduction to the, then, latest technologies in broadcasting. A few weeks later, whilst borrowing more copies, the Engineer-in-Charge told me, with some alarm, that he had had several requests to borrow his copies of the "Review - Technical" – presumably because I had shown them to my colleagues! To his credit, he acceded to their requests.

At that time, I recognised the value of the Technical Review and, more importantly, understood that its wider dissemination could benefit all staff of EBU Members. It never crossed my mind that I would eventually become responsible for the Technical Review and that I would have the opportunity to extend its readership.

Despite the plethora of trade magazines covering broadcasting technologies, few can even approach the high standard of articles routinely published in the Technical Review. It deserves much wider circulation. Unfortunately, the costs of printing and international postage have prohibited, for example, a 10-fold increase in distribution. But now the Internet has come to the rescue.

The traditional methods of sending EBU documents by post or by fax have been replaced over the past 3 years by use of the Internet to distribute almost all of our working documents – either by e-mail or by FTP. In addition, a large archive of technical documents is available on the EBU web site to all EBU Members – in other words, we are now able to provide a "documents-on-demand" service, including the Technical Review.

If the Internet had not been invented, the EBU might have tried to develop its own system for electronic distribution. Even if we had been successful, such a "bespoke" system would have necessarily been expensive and could never have offered ubiquitous access to all levels of staff throughout the EBU Members. Our transition into electronic distribution was initially cautious – because we were concerned that not all of our Members were able to access the Internet. In practice, in the technical sector, our Members have enthusiastically embraced the new methods, as well as welcoming electronic distribution of the Technical Review.

Because this publication is "highly cherished", there is some reluctance to share it with other colleagues – as typified by the remark: "Never lend anyone your copy of EBU Technical Review because it will never be returned!". Such remarks are a considerable tribute to the value of the Technical Review, but also underline the need to achieve better dissemination amongst the staff of EBU Members. Electronic distribution can extend the readership and, consequently, reduce the cost per copy. Furthermore, in the world of electronic publishing, you can give an electronic copy of an article to your colleagues – without losing your original copy.

A key issue for the EBU Technical Committee was the extent to which the electronic version could be considered as a substitute for the printed version. The Committee felt that electronic dissemination offered significant benefits, such as extending the potential readership without incurring higher distribution costs, together with providing facilities for electronic indexing and full-text searches – especially if back issues were also made available electronically. Nevertheless, it is clear that the printed version of the Technical Review remains by far the most convenient format for most readers.

From the perspective of the readers, the best option might have been that the printed version should be duplicated on the web – thus allowing the "best of both worlds". But this would not have addressed the issue of cost. Indeed, the costs would have increased because of the need for different layouts: a two- or three-column format is preferred for the printed version, but this is unacceptable for on-screen reading, which needs to have a single-column format.

Taking all of these factors into account, the Technical Committee reluctantly decided that the printed version should be abandoned. Although the cost of the Technical Review was a factor in their decision, it is important to understand that this was not the primary motive for the change. It is essential that all of the EBU's technical activities should be regularly reviewed to ensure that they offer value for money to its Members. The Technical Committee simply decided that, given the alternative of electronic distribution, continuing with the printed version did not represent the best use of the EBU's limited resources.

The electronic version of EBU Technical Review will be issued four times per year via the EBU's web site. Although the electronic version will be in English, there will be a printed "Year Book" – in separate English and French versions – containing the best 8 - 10 articles from the electronic issues published during the preceding year. In the next few weeks, the EBU web site will also permit you to retrieve articles from back-issues of EBU Technical Review, dating back to Spring 1992.

I end with a plea to everyone who is reading this. PLEASE tell your colleagues that EBU Technical Review is now available to all at:

http://www.ebu.ch/trev_home.html

Philip Laven
Director
EBU Technical Department