April 15, 2004
Launch of AP's ENPS 4.5 builds on integration for end-to-End workflow
Underscoring its commitment to continued excellence in journalism, The Associated Press today unveiled the newest version of its Essential News Production System - ENPS 4.5.
ENPS 4.5 builds upon the world’s best selling news production software by providing newsrooms all over the world with a seamless, end-to-end workflow and many, new customizable features.
Automated national and local content integration, improved communication tools, emerging and developing story updates, and refined and sophisticated newsgathering options are among the many new, key ENPS 4.5 features that provide a tighter and more efficient workflow for ENPS users in the field or at the desktop.
"In this latest release we bridge the gap between successful technical achievement and immediate practical application," said Lee Perryman, Deputy Director of AP's Broadcast division and Director of Broadcast Technology. "Our unmatched, powerful software upgrade builds on our commitment to newsroom system integration to create a seamless workflow for journalists to create, develop and share content."
ENPS 4.5 delivers numerous new features and upgrades. Among the highlights:
- Follow-Me Messaging: This new feature ties applications to make it simple to communicate with in-the-field journalists, especially when they are in hard to reach places, with updates, assignments and more.
- My ENPS: This new feature provides users fast and immediate overviews of stories created in their newsroom, in their news enterprise, and on the wires, keeping them up to date with real-time story developments.
- SNAPfeed 2.0: The latest version of the new, multimedia content store-and-forward technology is also is part of the new ENPS package. It allows users to feed stories to multiple newsrooms and servers simultaneously.
- On-Air Ticker System Integration: Local, state and national content now can be easily and automatically merged and updated so viewers can get more complete, real-time, on-screen news summaries and journalists able to produce more content while increasing efficiencies.
- Extended Briefing: This enhanced function builds upon the unique and highly successful search capabilities ENPS already delivers. Now users can expand, yet refine, their content and information searches using multiple platforms and servers searches.
- My Language, My Desktop: This added feature develops on ENPS' multilanguage capabilities by allowing different desktops in the same newsroom to operate in different languages at the same time.
For a more complete summary of ENPS upgrades, see below for Feature Capsules and ask your contact for individual Feature Descriptions.
ENPS will be installed in nearly 500 stations by end of year and is used by more than 43,000 reporters, writers, editors and producers in 42 countries and using the technology in 32 languages.
Designed by and for broadcast journalists, ENPS is a fit for all types of demanding news production environments, with powerful, easy-to-use features include scripting, rundowns, planning, contacts, messaging, archiving, third-party device control, news wire management, remote access capabilities for field staff, and the industry's only fully-integrated search engine.
In 2003, ENPS 4.0 was introduced which featured the introduction of SNAPfeed, ENPS Stats, and integrated Publishing.
Description Capsules of New ENPS Features
Fewer Steps, Less Confusion, Greater Productivity and Improved Workflow
Follow-Me Messaging
The new Follow-Me Messaging makes it easy to reach in-the-field journalists, which is especially important when they are in hard to reach places. It’s a communication gateway that automatically connects the newsroom ENPS-user with a journalist’s wireless device. Reporters or cameramen on assignment can receive top-line text messages or updated assignments via their cell phone or PDA. And the reporter can respond directly to the newsroom. This is especially important when reporters can’t talk on the phone, such as in a hearing or courtroom.
My ENPS
This new feature provides users with a quick overview of the day’s top and emerging stories. Journalists now can easily get a summary of what is crossing the wires and even being generated in their own newsroom, while reducing desktop clutter and information overload. No longer do they have to drill down to find the needed information. Urgent advisories, top wire stories, key local stories, current assignment and rundowns, are summarized in My ENPS.
SNAPfeed 2.0
SNAPfeed has been enhanced to deliver even more control. Field journalists can now automatically forward multimedia content to production playout servers or other SNAPfeed servers located at different newsrooms and stations within the organization. Plus, tighter integration allows the newsroom to offer access to users outside the organization, such as freelancers and stringers.
On-Air Ticker System Integration
Stations now have improved management of their on-air ticker content using ENPS. Local news stories or even ad/sponsor messages can be created and caroseled from the ENPS Running Order. Subscribers to AP Headline Tickers can interweave their local content with any of a dozen different AP news crawls. ENPS editorial approval function provides oversight of tickers prior to air.
Extended Briefing
Users can significantly expand searches with the new Extended Briefing function. From ENPS, permissioned users can launch searches across multiple ENPS servers, send queries to a number of Internet search engines or query third-party systems, such as archive systems. Extended Briefing gives journalists not just a wealth of information at their fingertips, but also more focused content when needed. Journalists can also search for multimedia content whether it’s a graphic image, an archived story, or a story a sister newsroom is working on.
My Language, My Desktop
Perfect for multilingual newsrooms, this new feature allows users to select the language for their individual desktop. Now, one desktop can read, create, edit, and produce content in Mandarin, while the desktop next to it can do the same in French. The language preference follows the users when they logon at a different computer.
Web Publishing
The ENPS publishing system gives broadcasters the power to move information to a wide variety of external systems. Existing content may be moved to a broadcaster’s website, providing synchronization of both broadcast and on-line presences. Assignment planners and rundowns may be pushed to intranet websites or wireless devices flexible access of information. Newsgathering cost information can be moved to compatible financial systems for enhanced tracking and analysis.
OPENS Update
Organizations, Places, Events Notification System – OPENS -- now offers faster updates with a new secure Internet login. Schools, government and other organizations can now enter their closing information via the Web. And your CGs will be automatically updated.
Continuous Content Rundowns
This new rundown and assignment planner functionality offers operational simplicity for continuous news operations. The Continuous Content Rundown allows a single rundown or assignment planner to be used day after day for all news programs, eliminating the need for multiple grids. ENPS automatically archives any stories in the grid that are older than a select number of days.
Multiple MOS Version Support
With ENPS 4.5, no other news production tool integrates as many versions of the MOS Protocol from a single organization. ENPS now supports multiple devices simultaneously using different versions of MOS.
Fax Feature
The new ENPS Fax Server allows journalists to view incoming faxes from any ENPS desktop. Inbound faxes become MOS objects, allowing them to be linked to newsgathering stories as reference material, offering yet another integration to improve workflow.