Implementation guidelines

(Below are some excerpts from the official guidelines of the News Information Text Format document.)

The most important concept is that the NIFT is flexible. Removing any or all of the NIFT tags is easily accomplished by any of dozens of computer programs, and many providers will offer their customers the choice of an NIFT or traditional feed.

This gives publishers the choice of full implementation, partial implementation or non-implementation.

Full implementation of the NIFT requires modifications to document creation, editing, storage, and presentation systems. However, partial implementation can be introduced into most editorial computer systems without large-scale modifications. NIFT can be tested on a specific project, such as sports agate, without involving other departments. This gives publishers a chance to see how NIFT works without making a large investment.

In electronic archives, NIFT tags can be used to build databases and help search engines tell the difference between people named Sydney and cities named Sydney. By using name, geographic, date and time tags, searches can be faster and more accurate. Databases will require substantial modification to take advantage of these features.

Most newspapers that use older editorial computer systems will recognize NIFT tags as appearing similar to their familiar typesetting codes. Users of Quark XPress, the popular pagination software, may also see a resemblance to Quark tags. Although the resemblance is superficial in both cases, one of the simplest implementations of the NIFT is to automatically substitute typesetting commands or Quark tags for NIFT tags. For example, seeing the NIFT <Byline> tag might be a cue to place text in bold and centered on its column. Such basic applications may be simple to program on older editorial systems.

Software that will handle the NIFT exists today. Because the NIFT is based on the internationally accepted SGML standard, software is available today to help you create, edit and print tagged text.

Although such software isn't needed to take advantage of some of Nitf's features, it can be a useful tool for publishers wishing to make NIFT an integral part of their production.

With such flexibility, decisions about implementing NIFT can be made with the knowledge that the publisher has full control over the pace of implementation.

-- Copyright © 1999, International Press Telecommunications Council
and the Newspaper Association of America

See also Struggling for one language, news groups attempt conformity

From THE COLE PAPERS, March 2000, Copyright © 2000, All Rights Reserved.