2020-03-17 Ronnie Willis

Rethinking Working-from-Home in the Face of COVID-19

Local news providers have never been more important than at this very moment. With the coronavirus outbreak challenging all of us, it’s critical that readers and viewers have the very latest information, professionally curated and vetted by trusted journalists.

Local news providers have never been more important than at this very moment. With the coronavirus outbreak challenging all of us, it’s critical that readers and viewers have the very latest information, professionally curated and vetted by trusted journalists. It will not be “business as usual” for the next several weeks, and newsrooms will play a critical role keeping all of us informed amidst unprecedented disruption.

Among the habits the outbreak has caused us to re-think is working from the office. With restrictions on travel and gatherings, many places of employment are encouraging employees to work from home. And while technological advances have made this a far easier transition than it would have been even five years ago, there are still challenges and considerations for reporters and editors who need to work remotely.

The first challenge is access to the system. Can a reporter or editor even log in from outside the building? And how is that access granted without compromising data security? News organizations using the Naviga content management platform are assured that their data is secure within the environment that we manage in Amazon Web Services. Our cybersecurity team monitors all of our systems around the clock, watching for both performance issues and security concerns, with the goal of stopping an issue before it reaches the reporter’s desk.

Reporters must be properly equipped to plan, write and edit stories, from wherever they are. The Naviga Content Platform allows for access to all of its functionality from almost any internet connection. Its browser-based interface can be accessed from a variety of devices, from a full-featured laptop to a Chromebook or Windows Surface tablet.

Having access to the entire system from anywhere means that not only can stories be written and edited; it means that all news team members have access to plans and the rest of the team’s work. This results in less duplication of effort and more ability for a news team to, indeed, work as a team. Efficient workflow can still be achieved without news team members physically sitting in the same room. Our content platform, combined with productivity tools like chat platforms and remote conferencing software, can help ensure that news teams are performing the critical task of keeping their communities up to date with as little friction as possible, even with a distributed team.

As your news teams carry out their critical tasks, Naviga is working to ensure that disruption is minimal. The majority of our teams are remote and distributed in time zones around the world. We’re taking necessary precautions and adapting also (anybody else dealing with “extended spring break” in their home offices? Hint: It’s nowhere near as fun as regular spring break). Your teams and your news coverage will adapt as events warrant, and we’re ready to serve as your technology partner, whether to ensure your business continuity now or to modernize your systems to even better equip you to serve your audience.