Busy neighborhood where my office is located. Business hours Mon - Fri 9:30 to 18:30

“But what does that mean?”, I’ve often been asked. Unless I have more than 5 minutes, I leave everyone with vague answers which of course elicits confusion and make me feel like an arrogant snob. Here is a lengthier description — much more than “I do web stuff”.  It’s not too hard to describe, but it does require explaining my background, which is boring, if not in the realm of TMI to most strangers. Read on if you don’t feel like that stops you!

I’ve been involved in the production process of print newspapers & magazines and websites & blogs. While the role of a contributing writer, photographer, artist and editor is clear, the role of a producer less visible. After all, the finished publication only consists of contributors’ content. But, how does it reach from that stage, a collection of editorial pieces, to the final product? There is a gap in the process, before it goes off to press — or, in the web world, pushed live.

While production may vary greatly from one company to another depending on the size of staff or objective, the production staff is most likely responsible for managing the final stages of production.  At my print newspaper office, the production team, separate from the writers & editors, consists of the copy editors and the layout artists that work nightly from 5pm until press time. It’s no wonder most major newspapers have staffers that are jointly copy and layout people. My internet office is similarly organized into an editorial and a production team. The editors handle all of the editorial parts, while the producers work with the editors to manage the project from beginning to the end. I find that at least 75% of the work is at the production level, simply because the editorial pieces is only a small chunk of the overall finished product. This web content will most likely involve design, promotional content, legal issues, corporate standards, editorial revisions, QA (quality assurance) — each with their own processes.

So, how would I describe the role of a producer? Some suggestions: a project manager, an organizer, a researcher, an editor, a do-all-er.