George Schlukbier
Encyclopedia
George Schlukbier is the North America
n innovator who in the 1990s built Nando
, one of the early websites offered by a daily newspaper (The News & Observer
of Raleigh, North Carolina
), and NandO Times, an early and much-copied online newspaper. He later built Total Sports as an early online sports information source.
Editor Frank Daniels III set Schlukbier to work creating an on-line presence for the N&O. Schulkbier assembled a technical and editorial staff to carry out his ideas for an interactive service that would appeal to young people—a crucial and shrinking readership for U.S. newspapers. His first step was to purchase an existing internet access provider. Then he joined with the N&O Newspapers in Education program to make NandO IAP access free to all North Carolina
schools. Once familiar with the internet and with NandO's offerings, students wanted access to its chatrooms and games at home.
Schlukbier, the vice-president of NandO, worked with Daniels, Seth Effron, and Eric Harris in developing Nando Times
as an interactive online newspaper offering a full menu of news, sports, and features from local to international. It became forerunner of the hundreds of such newspaper sites that popped up over the following decade.
Daniels merged KOZ with Total Sports Publishing
of Kingston, New York
, known for its Total Baseball
encyclopedia. The publishing arm, under founder John Thorn
, continued to produce highly regarded sports books, including Total Hockey. Schlukbier became president and chief operating officer of Total Sports, charged with building a multifaceted online sports news information service. Assembling a staff made up, in large part, of the same people who had helped create NandO, Schlukbier accomplished this. The company offered subscribers instant access to scores, statistics and standings. Total Sports' landed a contract with the collegiate Atlantic Coast Conference
to provide live online coverage of ACC games, a novelty at the time.
A falling out with Daniels and the board of directors led to Schlukbier's resignation from Total Sports in May 2000. The company was sold later that year to Quokka Sports, Inc., of San Francisco.
, Schlukbier was the younger of two sons of a career U.S. military officer. His father was of German-American immigrant stock and his mother was of Norwegian-American extraction. The family lived on or near Air Force
bases around the United States as the boys grew up. George Schlukbier spent his teen years and early adulthood in San Diego, California
. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego
, with a degree in comparative literature, he moved to Vermont
and then to Montreal, Canada, where he earned a master's degree
in library science
from McGill University
.
As a public librarian in York Township, Ontario, Schlukbier helped bring the library into the new age of digital catalogues and computer access.
, Schlukbier began reaching out to the Bee's sister newspapers in communities including Fresno, California
, Anchorage, Alaska
, and Kennewick, Washington
. For the Bee's parent company, McClatchy he became point man in coordinating new technology for information storage and retrieval. This work brought him to Daniels' attention.
. In 2006 he joined Content Conversion Specialists of Hamburg, Germany.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n innovator who in the 1990s built Nando
Nando
In the early 1990s, NandO or Nando.net was one of the first Internet newspaper sites.-Inception:Nando was produced by the New Media division of The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, North Carolina...
, one of the early websites offered by a daily newspaper (The News & Observer
The News & Observer
The News & Observer is the regional daily newspaper of the Research Triangle area of the U.S. State of North Carolina. The N&O, as it is popularly called, is based in Raleigh and also covers Durham, Cary, and Chapel Hill. The paper also has substantial readership in most of the state east of...
of Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
), and NandO Times, an early and much-copied online newspaper. He later built Total Sports as an early online sports information source.
NandO
In 1993, The News & Observer hired Schlukbier as director of its newly formed New Media division.Editor Frank Daniels III set Schlukbier to work creating an on-line presence for the N&O. Schulkbier assembled a technical and editorial staff to carry out his ideas for an interactive service that would appeal to young people—a crucial and shrinking readership for U.S. newspapers. His first step was to purchase an existing internet access provider. Then he joined with the N&O Newspapers in Education program to make NandO IAP access free to all North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
schools. Once familiar with the internet and with NandO's offerings, students wanted access to its chatrooms and games at home.
Schlukbier, the vice-president of NandO, worked with Daniels, Seth Effron, and Eric Harris in developing Nando Times
Nando
In the early 1990s, NandO or Nando.net was one of the first Internet newspaper sites.-Inception:Nando was produced by the New Media division of The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, North Carolina...
as an interactive online newspaper offering a full menu of news, sports, and features from local to international. It became forerunner of the hundreds of such newspaper sites that popped up over the following decade.
Total Sports
McClatchy Newspapers (coincidentally, Schlukbier's former employer) purchased the News & Observer and its chain of smaller publications in 1995. Frank Daniels III left the newspaper, which had been owned and run by generations of his family, in favor of online ventures such as KOZ community news. He took Schlukbier with him.Daniels merged KOZ with Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing
Total Sports Publishing refers to a book publishing company based in Kingston, New York, that operated from 1998 to 2002. Prominent author John Thorn served as the division's publisher throughout its existence.-Total Sports:...
of Kingston, New York
Kingston, New York
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, USA. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. It became New York's first capital in 1777, and was burned by the British Oct. 16, 1777, after the Battles of Saratoga...
, known for its Total Baseball
Total Baseball
Total Baseball is a baseball encyclopedia first compiled by John Thorn and Pete Palmer in 1989. The latest edition, published in 2004, is its eighth...
encyclopedia. The publishing arm, under founder John Thorn
John Thorn
John Thorn is a noted sports historian, and the Official Baseball Historian for Major League Baseball.-Early life:Thorn was born in Stuttgart, West Germany. His Polish Jewish parents had come there as refugees. He immigrated to the United States in 1949...
, continued to produce highly regarded sports books, including Total Hockey. Schlukbier became president and chief operating officer of Total Sports, charged with building a multifaceted online sports news information service. Assembling a staff made up, in large part, of the same people who had helped create NandO, Schlukbier accomplished this. The company offered subscribers instant access to scores, statistics and standings. Total Sports' landed a contract with the collegiate Atlantic Coast Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
to provide live online coverage of ACC games, a novelty at the time.
A falling out with Daniels and the board of directors led to Schlukbier's resignation from Total Sports in May 2000. The company was sold later that year to Quokka Sports, Inc., of San Francisco.
Beginnings
Born in 1951 in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Schlukbier was the younger of two sons of a career U.S. military officer. His father was of German-American immigrant stock and his mother was of Norwegian-American extraction. The family lived on or near Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
bases around the United States as the boys grew up. George Schlukbier spent his teen years and early adulthood in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, with a degree in comparative literature, he moved to Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
and then to Montreal, Canada, where he earned a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in library science
Library science
Library science is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and other areas to libraries; the collection, organization, preservation, and dissemination of information resources; and the...
from McGill University
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
.
Canadian career
Settling north of Toronto, Ontario in the 1970s, Schlukbier founded Info Bank, a company that was ahead of its time in anticipating the information age. Although the time and technology for Info Bank had not arrived, the experience he gained pointed to his later work with internet companies. He also worked as a newspaper librarian in Toronto.As a public librarian in York Township, Ontario, Schlukbier helped bring the library into the new age of digital catalogues and computer access.
Return to California
Schlukbier returned to California in the 1980s when Gregory Favre, executive editor of the Sacramento Bee, hired him to update its news "morgue," or newspaper library. From SacramentoSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, Schlukbier began reaching out to the Bee's sister newspapers in communities including Fresno, California
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, and Kennewick, Washington
Kennewick, Washington
Kennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities...
. For the Bee's parent company, McClatchy he became point man in coordinating new technology for information storage and retrieval. This work brought him to Daniels' attention.
Digital news archives
Schlukbier in 2004 accepted a position with the Office of Strategic Initiatives at the U.S. Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. In 2006 he joined Content Conversion Specialists of Hamburg, Germany.
External links
- Columbia Journalism Review http://archives.cjr.org/year/96/1/trail.asp
- Exploring the New Media, UVa Continuing Education http://www.knotworks.com/doc/IPNews/pub/1996.4.NewMedia.html
- National Digital Newspaper Project Architecture http://www.loc.gov/ndnp/pdf/NDNP_Architecture_0505.pdf
- Raleigh News & Observer news archive http://archives.newsbank.com/ar-search/we/Archives?p_action=search&p_perpage=20&p_product=RLEC&s_search_type=keyword&p_widesearch=yes&p_text_base=schlukbier&p_field_psudo-sort-0=psudo-sort&p_sort=_rank_%3AD&p_field_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_date-0=date%3A+B%2CE&p_text_date-0=&p_field_YMD_date-0=YMD_date&p_field_YMD_date-0=YMD_date&p_params_YMD_date-0=date%3AB%2CE&xcal_ranksort=4&xcal_useweights=yes&%5B+Search+%5D.x=77&%5B+Search+%5D.y=7]
- Libraryof Congress Digital Preservationhttp://www.digitalpreservation.gov/index.php?nav=1
- Content Conversion Specialists http://www.ccs-gmbh.de
- The McClatchy Company http://www.mcclatchy.com/
- NandO becomes McClatchy Interactive http://www.mcclatchy.com/news/2005/story/6219720p-6094243c.html
- Edgar Online http://sec.edgar-online.com/1999/11/12/17/0000950130-99-006426/Section13.asp
- Triangle Business Journal http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2000/07/17/daily25.html
- Schlukbier Consultants http://schlukbier.com