Journalists Live in Paper Houses, Too

Let me be the first to ‘fess up: A considerable, and probably unnecessary, amount of paper was used in getting this story to your doorstep.

First, I went on three in-person interviews, where I took a total of 32 pages of notes. A tape recorder sits in my briefcase, ready for use, but I prefer to write things down.

I conducted many more interviews by phone, copiously taking notes on a computer so that, in theory, I could avoid the use of more paper. But I made a printout of the electronic notes when I was done reporting (28 more pages) so that I could mark them up and highlight parts I liked.

In the course of reporting, I also collected three brochures about paper storage, two packets of printed handouts on the operations of federal archives and a 108-page report on records management.

Then I wrote the article on a computer, making several printouts along the way: of my first draft, of the story I turned in to my editor and of the final edited version. The editor made one printout for his use. All that added up to 22 more pages.

I used a computer to draft two photo assignments and, following policy, made two printouts each for the photo department’s files (eight more pages). The news desk, which designs the day’s newspaper, used about 10 sheets of paper for the pages containing this article. Photocopies of those design pages went to seven copy editors. After typesetting, the copy desk received two 18-by-24-inch page proofs for each page.

So, about 650 tons of paper were used to get this story and the rest of the newspaper to readers.

Old habits die hard.