In the ‘olden’ days “everything depended on the flow of paper… almost none of the conditions that led to the creation of newsrooms still prevail,” said the New Yorker.

Still, the tradition of keeping journalists and editors close to each other has prevailed. The main feature of the Times’ new building is the Podium, a four-story glass wing separated from the main building, which serves as the newsroom.

“Piano (the architect), by making the newsroom a distinct architectural element, has tried to give reporters and editors pride of place. Inside, however, the newsroom feels enormous and austere,” reported the New Yorker.

Of course, the open-light design and glass-enclosed offices offer modern newsrooms’ emphasis on openness, but “there’s no place I can change into a tuxedo,” complained a member of the editorial board.

Perhaps exaggeratedly harsh in its criticism, the New Yorker contrasts the Times’ building with Bloomberg. “To see a newsroom truly designed for the electronic age, you have to head across town, to the headquarters of Bloomberg L.P.”

At the Bloomberg office, no one, not even the chairman, has a private office. The desk of the C.E.O., Lex Fenwick, is set slightly apart, but he sits right by employees who take in customer calls and complaints.

“I wanted to make the point that we are a customer-service business above all,” he said.

In the middle of Bloomberg’s newsroom stands a peculiar atrium, the Link. The Link serves as a gathering place for staffers and newcomers (who usually must transit through the Link when they enter the newsroom) and serves free snacks.

Flat–panel monitors and long screens constantly display news and internal information. Every floor has glass-enclosed conference rooms and glass-enclosed ‘private’ offices: the point being, staffers are visible at all times.

Except in a specially designed area on a lower floor, where employees and managers can still take care of private business.

Source: The New Yorker