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What Happens When Journalists Envision a Web Siteand Techies Try to Build It?Generations clash. Cultures collide. And promises cannot be kept.Journalist’s TradeBy Edward M. FouhyWhen Eckhard Pfeiffer abruptlyresigned as President ofCompaq, the top company inthe world in personal computer sales,we learned one reason for his troubles:getting the software that managedDigital’s factories (Digital EquipmentCorporation, which Compaq hadbought) to work with the software thatruns Compaq’s factories.When I read that account in USAToday, I thought that if these two computergiants can’t figure out a way toget their act together, no wonder we’vehad so much trouble with our Webdesign firm. I had a mental picture ofprogrammers from Compaq trying tomake sense of the computer code writtenby their new colleagues at Digital—and failing. That’s because this is whatit’s been like for stateline.org, the newWeb venture I’ve been putting togetherwith my colleagues for the past ninemonths. Once again, it seems, the promiseheld by computers and the peoplewho program and, in this case, buildthem, outruns their ability to deliverwhat we might think they can.And therein lies my tale of Web journalism.If computers are leading thecountry into some vague, post-industrialfuture and Web architecture, afancy term for software, is the industryof the 1990’s as well as Wall Street’scurrent darling, there’s somethingwrong with this picture. In fact, it turnsout there is something terribly wrongwhen the point of the enterprise is tocreate a place where serious journalismcan be practiced. It’s as though wecome from different tribes; we the jour-thanks to devolution fever that hasswept Congress since the Republicantakeover in 1994. About 1600 readersvisit us daily. We attract them withthorough, careful reporting on majorproblems facing state legislatures: education,taxes, welfare reform, utilityderegulation and health care. We read140 newspapers each day on line. Weexcerpt their coverage of state government,link to their Web sites, add ourown reporting and publish it all at 11a.m. each day.We are deadline addicts: All eight ofus journalists are refugees from newshttp://www.stateline.orgnalists, them the programmers. Ourlanguage, our customs and habits allarrive with us from different planets.A bit of background is in order:Since last January 25 stateline.org, acreature of the Pew Center on the States,has been published every day. It’s essentiallyan information service for statehouse reporters and anyone else whowants it. Our target audience includespolicymakers and engaged citizens,defined as that small band of citizenswho take a serious interest in publicpolicy debates. Those debates increasinglytake place in state legislatures,A stage in stateline.org’s design evolution.Nieman Reports / Fall 1999 57