Former WHQ editor Tamsin Stirling looks back to the days of cowgum and fax machines and forward to wherever technology takes us.
100 issues! I wonder whether the energetic and committed group of people who came together to start WHQ over 25 years ago dreamed that the magazine would still be around in 2015.
then, the magazine was mostly black and white; colour printing involved four ‘screens’ and was beyond the budget available. The advent of digital printing meant full colour throughout without an increase in costs. Articles were submitted to the editor mostly by fax (or even post) and then typed in. Although this could be done while editing, it was very time consuming and is unthinkable these days. The range, quantity and quality of photographs was generally poor. Now most mobile phones take photos of printable quality and editing software means that they can be cropped and ‘improved’ with ease.
Possibly the biggest change in how the magazine is produced is the design process. In the early days, WHQ’s first editor, Angela Evans, worked with a manual grid, physically laying out articles, illustrations and photos and sticking them down with cowgum. Now the designer Martin Williams uses state of the art software, can access numerous image and photo libraries online and uses Dropbox to send the proofs electronically to Jules, the editor. The days of face-to- face meetings to go through proofing changes with the designer are long gone and almost forgotten.
The magazine is physically much larger than in the early days, giving scope to cover a broader range of issues and include more perspectives. And the magazine has had an online presence for some years, with a total revamp of the website underway.
THE FUTURE
So what next for WHQ? What might technology enable in the coming years? A fully interactive, web-based publication which is not based around issues, but with articles and discussion pieces added at any time, ‘news’ updated automatically and reader contributions integrated? Would this mean a change of name/brand?
Whatever form WHQ takes in the future, some things will remain constant. It is very much of, as well as for, those who work in housing and regeneration across Wales. Its role – to inform readers and provide a forum for discussing and debating ideas. And wherever technology takes us, people will still play a central role in making WHQ happen.
Tamsin Stirling was the second editor of WHQ from 1994 to 2012 and is now an independent housing consultant. tamsin.stirling@dial.pipex.com @TamsinStirling1