How the Monitor is Built, its Timelines, and Making it What You Want it to Be

by Gary Wunder

It seems that the coronavirus has interfered in everything we have come to expect, and the Braille Monitor has not been immune—particularly our hardcopy formats. When we produce hardcopy as in the case of Braille, large print, and our audio thumb drives, we necessarily extend the time for publication if needed. As helpful as it is to put our magazine out through email, on the web, and on NFB-NEWSLINE®, given the speed with which electronic documents can be published, we believe there are a significant number of readers who still want and need the publication in a form that is delivered directly to their homes. What we always wrestle with is the desire to publish late-breaking news and the need to get the publication out on time.

Here is a review of how the hardcopy timeline has been affected most recently. Vendors have had difficulty because the virus has hit its staff, and the virus is even interfered with necessary servicing of their equipment. One issue had to be completely redone, so we offer our most sincere apology to those who read the hard-copy edition in Braille. There have been minor delays in the print issue as well. And the National Federation of the Blind is investigating the unacceptable delays in the Free Matter service from the U.S. Postal Service. The most recent delay comes from me, having contracted the coronavirus yet a second time and delaying our June 2022 publication by about a week. Our goal has been for readers to have hardcopies at least by the end of the same month, which has not been met.

So that our readers understand the way the publication is built and the deadlines we use, here is a brief outline. When we get an article that we are privileged to run, it is first read and edited by me as the editor. It then gets a format check by Elyse Bryan, and later she takes all of the individual articles we have assembled and places them into one document based on the order that I specify. Normally this document is compiled as early as the tenth or as late as the fifteenth of the month. The document, written in Microsoft Word, is then submitted to our first proofreader, Lorraine Rovig, who examines it for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and overall clarity. Any suggestions for changes get run by me, the word document is updated, and it then gets sent to our art director, Suzanne Shaffer. She then uses the Word document to create the multicolumn document we will use for the print edition by importing it to Adobe InDesign. That layout then goes to a second proofreader, who not only looks for the errors listed above, but also looks for errors in layout and opportunities presented by the print format to pull out certain notable quotations. Again we do a review session, and the corrected document, this time an electronic version of pages marked up by pencil and pen, goes back to Suzanne who incorporates all of the changes into the Microsoft Word document and the multi-column layout produced in Adobe InDesign. Once this is done, we subject the final document to a light review and send it off for embossing and printing.

Shortly after the document is submitted for the hardcopies, then the audio is recorded by Will Schwatka and also proofed, and the digital formats are setup on our website under nfb.org/publications. The digital format is typically available on the first of each month. A few months ago, we made the decision to delay a deadline date because we were waiting for an important piece of information from the White House. With these various changes on our timelines, we are seeking your feedback.

Understanding your thoughts and expectations regarding the Braille Monitor would be helpful in determining where we may evolve the timelines. Is it more important for the Braille Monitor to be predictably on time or would an occasional delay for late breaking news be your preference? Are you accessing multiple formats as they become available? Do you prefer to think of the Monitor being Issue One through Issue Eleven, or do you prefer that it continue to be designated by month and be closely linked by date?

The Braille Monitor belongs to all of us in the Federation so that we can remain informed and included. We have no higher obligation than to meet the desire of our readers. Please share your comments with me by writing to [email protected]. Though we won’t be using a formal survey, you will be heard, and what you say will be taken into account. Any other input you care to share will also be welcome.