by Jon Cole, The Citadel associate director of media relations/CoSIDA New Media/Technology Committee member
Cole is a member of the CoSIDA New Media/Technology Committee. He is the associate director of
media relations at The Citadel (Greensboro, N.C.) who serves as the main contact for men's basketball and women's volleyball and coordinates
The Citadel athletic website.
Say goodbye to clipping services and free up some time in your busy days in the office. Cole's article below is a call to action for CoSIDA members to how to do a PDF archive of online and print articles to save paper and space. He also includes a step-by-step process for doing this.
Last March, Cole wrote an article on "
More on moving from printing media guides to digital media and why" as a CoSIDA.com feature.
Prior to the start of the 2010-11 Citadel basketball season, I looked into a variety of ways that I could quickly and effectively reach out to radio and television personalities who provide coverage of Bulldog basketball. With quick turnaround of game notes and supplemental information essential during an NCAA Division I basketball season, I implemented a plan that included
Adobe PDF versions of articles that has proven effective, space conservative, and environmentally friendly.
The Citadel’s hiring of Head Coach Chuck Driesell drew national attention to the program which included articles in AOL Fanhouse, Rivals by Yahoo, The Washington Post and ESPN. These publications provide the reader with the opportunity to make “printer friendly” copies that include Adobe PDF options. I began utilizing these PDF options and after scanning original copies of articles from
The Charleston Post & Courier, with tools provided by Adobe PDF’s allowed me to combine these articles into one complete booklet which I could constantly update.
As I constantly update articles throughout the season that include preview, post-game and feature stories about events detailing the season, I have been able to constantly save and shift articles in the chronological order in which they occur. This allows me to rename the updated booklet (ex: The Citadel Articles as of Jan. 10) and build a complete recap of the season, all the while conserving with the paperless copies that constantly shift in a file cabinet over the years.
By saving a single PDF copy of the articles I have the ability to use the headline from the newspaper as part of a national recognition page in the media guide next season as well as combining with articles from previous dates in the season to have a complete and thorough recap to that point for the use of media (TV, play-by-play, etc.).
The reaction to the comprehensive booklets of information has been resoundingly positive. In a conversation at Colorado University, during a recent road trip, I was told that this information allows the reader to minimize their preparation time by looking at press releases and finding newspapers that would provide continuous coverage of Citadel athletics. Second, the reader can copy off the articles that they find necessary or simply write down points of reference (quotes, commentary, facts, etc.) that can be useful as they familiarize themselves with the team and its coaching staff. This proved both time and cost effective for both parties involved, saving on printed articles are commonly mailed to the opposing media members.
In conclusion, this measure also has significant other impacts for athletic media relations departments as well.
1. One of the biggest impacts that it makes is cost efficiency with the amount of repetitious copies that are being made for members of the media.
2. Second, as mentioned, the combining of articles is an efficient from a space standpoint because documents are simply stored on desktop folder and easily accessible at the click of a mouse, rather than in a manila folder of a file cabinet with the opportunity to get lost.
3. Finally, the opportunity to reach various media markets (home/visitor radio, home/visitor television coverage) with an email attachment will consume less than 10 minutes of office time and in the end prove highly effective.
HOW TO CREATE AND COMBINE AN ADOBE PDF ARTICLE BOOKLET
(1.) Scan or save the original document as a PDF.
(2.) Save the PDF beginning with the Date-Article Title-Source (Jan. 1-The Citadel Defeats Team Y-Charleston Post & Courier) that way you can give credit in the coming months when necessary.
(3.) In the PDF select “Combine” and “Merge Files Into a Single PDF”
(4.) An option will appear, allowing you to add additional files.
(5.) Click “Add Files” and add the articles in chronological order by Date.
Note: You can move the dates in order by selecting “Move Up” or “Move Down” options.
(6.) Once you have your articles in the order in which you so choose, click “Combine Files” option.
(7.) Save the document as “School name” articles through specific date (ex: The Citadel articles as of Jan. 1, 2011)
(8.) Email to appropriate individuals.