NEWS
To mark its revamping, the IK4-TEKNIKER newsletter is taking a look at its origins. There is nobody more suited to this mission than Javier Garcia, the person who guided Newtek’s steps from its birth into adulthood.
Newtek has been revamped now that it is about to complete its first 100 issues. How would you rate its track record?
The first issue of Newtek came out in April 1986. Since then, the magazine has routinely been providing full information about IK4-TEKNIKER’s activities and offer. I think that such a long track record has led to a kind of “complicity” and loyalty among many companies and institutions, and this provides them with a tool for them to communicate with each other. The fact that Newtek is the periodical publication with more issues published than all those produced by the members of the Basque Network for Science, Technology and Innovation naturally makes you feel chuffed.
What does Newtek contribute to IK4-TEKNIKER in terms of projection, both internally and externally?
Internally, it enables IK4-TEKNIKER's researchers and other members of staff to get a holistic view of the organisation and its initiatives, beyond the limited point of view from the unit each person works in.
Externally, it has the potential of a periodical medium of communication. So whoever reads it or glances at its headlines, at least, can get an up-to-date idea of where the centre's initiative is at. According to my information, many people have found out about an interesting technology offer through Newtek, so it has enabled them to find the answers to their technological needs, and IK4-TEKNIKER, new contracts.
Whose idea was it and how did Newtek come about? Tell us an anecdote about the beginnings of the publication.
The idea of setting up Newtek (which at first had no title) came from Iñaki Goenaga, IK4-TEKNIKER'S founder and Managing Director, who wanted to promote the image of the centre externally at the time when visibility was still limited beyond the local area of Eibar [Gipuzkoa, Basque Country].
Apart from some amusing misprints –I remember one of the first issues talking about “fried elements” instead of “finite elements” the most well-known story concerns a researcher who was very sure about what he was saying in connection with a subject in his area of specialization; he was jokingly asked to read Newtek before categorically confirming what he was saying.
What is the formula for striking a balance between rigour in the technical information and the accessibility of the information?
In actual fact, maintaining technical rigour while at the same time making it comprehensible for the magazine’s target public has always posed a big challenge. Because if you want to keep a publication of this type going, you have to keep it straightforward but you also have to make sure it is correct scientifically and technologically speaking. Basically, emphasis has always been placed on the applications, on the benefits that the company or the general public and can get from our developments. That way it’s much easier to reach everyone. Naturally, from time to time weightier articles will need to be written with a specific sector of interlocutors in mind.
In a context marked by multidirectional communication in which the workers are important communicators of the information about the company, what role do newssheets like Newtek play in companies in the 21st century?
A magazine like Newtek is by nature broad-brush in its approach, so it’s perfectly compatible with the more specialised communication exchange which, from the electronic media and the Internet, can be done by the centre's individual researchers or units.
