Preview. Built from the published NewsML-G2 documents by tools/prosedoc. This layout is a harness for reviewing structure — it is not the published site.

19. News Industry Text Format (NITF)

19.1. Introduction

This Guide refers to NITF v 3.5. A new version 3.6 was released in January 2012. Please visit www.iptc.org/standards and follow the link to NITF for further details of NITF and to download a package of the new version and its documentation

NITF is an XML-based standard for marking up text articles that includes the ability both to create a structure for the content, and to provide a clear separation of content and metadata.

NITF differs from NewsML-G2:

NITF provides a mark-up structure for text; NewsML-G2 is a container for news, is content-agnostic and has no mark-up for text content.
NITF expresses a single piece of content and does not support, for example, alternative renditions or different parts of the same content.
NITF properties have tightly-defined meanings; NewsML-G2 makes more use of generic structures that can be adapted for different uses. Therefore there may not be a direct equivalent in NewsML-G2 for a given NITF property, but a generic structure may be used to express the provider’s intention equally effectively.

The following table summarises the major differences between the two standards.

Feature

NITF

NewsML-G2

Content mark-up

Content structure

Extensible

Any content

Management metadata

Administrative metadata

Descriptive metadata

Packages

Alternative renditions

Concepts/Relationships

NITF is a popular and valid choice for the management and mark-up of text in a news environment. This Chapter assumes that organisations wish to continue to use NITF for the mark-up of text, but to migrate to NewsML-G2 as a management container. There are three basic migration paths:

Minimum migration: retain NITF and all of its structures in place, and use a minimal NewsML-G2 News Item as a container for NITF documents. NewsML-G2 would convey the complete original NITF document.
Partial migration: copy or move some of NITF’s metadata structures to the equivalent NewsML-G2 properties, retaining some or all NITF metadata structures and structural mark-up of the text content.
Complete migration: move the NITF metadata to the NewsML-G2 equivalents, using NewsML-G2 to convey a text document with NITF content mark-up.

For a minimum migration, implementers need only to refer to the NewsML-G2 Basics and Text chapters.

For partial or complete migration, the starting point is a consideration of how the structure of NITF relates to NewsML-G2, to form a high-level view of which NITF properties are to be migrated, and where they fit in NewsML-G2 framework.

19.2. Overview of NITF and NewsML-G2 equivalents

NITF documents are composed of the following components:

The root element: <nitf>
<head>, a container for metadata about the document as a whole
<body> a container for content and metadata which is intended for display to the user. The <body> component is further split into:
<body-head> Metadata about the content
<body-content> The content itself
<body-end>Information that is intended to appear at the end of the article.

19.2.1. Root element <nitf>

The root element may uniquely identify the document using @uno, which is equivalent to NewsML-G2 @guid.

19.2.2. Document metadata <head>

<head> may have a @id attribute, a local identifier for the element. Most of the child elements of <head> have equivalents in the NewsML-G2 <itemMeta> component, with exceptions noted in the following table:

NITF element	NewsML-G2 equivalent	Comment
<title>	<title>	The properties are equivalent in NITF and NewsML-G2
<meta>	<itemClass>	<itemClass> uses the IPTC News Item Nature NewsCodes to identify the type of content.
<tobject>	<subject>	This is part of NewsML-G2 <contentMeta>
<iim>	None	Deprecated in NITF, no NewsML-G2 equivalent
<docdata>	Various	A container for detailed metadata for the document. contains child elements as tabled in 21.2.2.1below
<pubdata>	None	NewsML-G2 contains no direct equivalent of Publication Metadata. In NITF, the property has many attributes intended to convey information about print publications
<revision-history>		Attributes can express the date and reason for the revision, the name and job title of the person who made the revision

NITF element

NewsML-G2 equivalent

Comment

<title>

The properties are equivalent in NITF and NewsML-G2

<meta>

<itemClass> uses the IPTC News Item Nature NewsCodes to identify the type of content.

This is part of NewsML-G2 <contentMeta>

<iim>

None

Deprecated in NITF, no NewsML-G2 equivalent

Various

A container for detailed metadata for the document. contains child elements as tabled in 21.2.2.1below

None

NewsML-G2 contains no direct equivalent of Publication Metadata. In NITF, the property has many attributes intended to convey information about print publications

<revision-history>

Attributes can express the date and reason for the revision, the name and job title of the person who made the revision

<docdata> child elements

These convey detailed management information about the document.

NITF element	NewsML-G2 equivalent	Comment
<correction>	<signal>	Indicates that the item is a correction, identifies the previously published document and any correction instruction. NewsML-G2 <signal> contains a QCode so that processing instructions are constrained by a controlled vocabulary. The property may have a <name> child element and be accompanied by <edNote> conveying a human-readable message about the instruction.
<ev-loc>	<subject>	<ev-loc> contains information about where the news event took place. The NewsML-G2 equivalent of <subject> may use a @role to indicate that the subject is a geographic place. If used, the IPTC Concept Type NewsCodes would be either “geoArea” or “poi” (Point of Interest)
<doc-id>	G2 Item @guid	Unique persistent identifier for the document
<del-list>	<timestamp>	Audit trail of points involved in delivery of the document. May be expressed in the <timestamp> property of a NewsML-G2 News Message <header>.
< urgency>	< urgency>	Editorial urgency of the document. NITF uses values 1-8, NewsML-G2 uses 1-9. The value may also be linked to Priority <priority>in a NewsML-G2 News Message.
< fixture>	< instanceOf>	Regularly occurring and/or frequently updated content, for example “Noon Weather Report” or “Closing Stock Market Prices”. In NewsML-G2, this is a Flex1PropType property type, a template that allows the use of a controlled or uncontrolled value.
< date.issue>	Various	The default NewsML-G2 property would be <versionCreated>, but depending on the provider’s intention, <firstCreated>, <contentCreated> or <contentModified> could be used.
< date.release>	Various	NewsML-G2 does not have a direct equivalent for this property. In NITF, the default value is the time of receipt of the document. Where a provider wishes to specifically delay a release, the NewsML-G2 <embargoed> property may be used. If the provider wishes to express a timestamp of the time that the document was released, a timestamp property such as <sent> in News Message should be used.
<date.expire>	@validto	The <remoteContent> wrapper may have a Time Validity Attribute of @validto.
<doc-scope>	<audience>	Area of interest that is not a Category, for example geographic: “of interest to people living in Toronto”. This is not the same intention as a <subject> of Toronto, which means “about” or “linked to” Toronto. If content should be seen by “Equity Traders” but is not of the Subject “Equities”, then the NewsML-G2 <audience> property may be used.
<series>	<memberOf>	In NITF, this is intended to indicate that the article is one of a series of articles, its place in the order of the series, out of a total number of articles in the series. The NewsML-G2 equivalent <memberOf> is a Flex1PropType which may take a controlled or uncontrolled value.
<ed-msg>	<edNote>	As with NITF, the type of message may be indicated by @role in NewsML-G2
< du-key>	None	NITF uses this property for maintaining a network of relationships to other versions of the same article. NewsML-G2 uses GUID, versioning and, if necessary, Links, to maintain this information

NITF element

NewsML-G2 equivalent

Comment

Indicates that the item is a correction, identifies the previously published document and any correction instruction. NewsML-G2 <signal> contains a QCode so that processing instructions are constrained by a controlled vocabulary. The property may have a <name> child element and be accompanied by <edNote> conveying a human-readable message about the instruction.

<ev-loc>

<ev-loc> contains information about where the news event took place. The NewsML-G2 equivalent of <subject> may use a @role to indicate that the subject is a geographic place. If used, the IPTC Concept Type NewsCodes would be either “geoArea” or “poi” (Point of Interest)

<doc-id>

G2 Item @guid

Unique persistent identifier for the document

<del-list>

Audit trail of points involved in delivery of the document. May be expressed in the <timestamp> property of a NewsML-G2 News Message <header>.

< urgency>

Editorial urgency of the document. NITF uses values 1-8, NewsML-G2 uses 1-9. The value may also be linked to Priority <priority>in a NewsML-G2 News Message.

< fixture>

< instanceOf>

Regularly occurring and/or frequently updated content, for example “Noon Weather Report” or “Closing Stock Market Prices”. In NewsML-G2, this is a Flex1PropType property type, a template that allows the use of a controlled or uncontrolled value.

< date.issue>

Various

The default NewsML-G2 property would be <versionCreated>, but depending on the provider’s intention, <firstCreated>, <contentCreated> or <contentModified> could be used.

< date.release>

Various

NewsML-G2 does not have a direct equivalent for this property. In NITF, the default value is the time of receipt of the document. Where a provider wishes to specifically delay a release, the NewsML-G2 <embargoed> property may be used. If the provider wishes to express a timestamp of the time that the document was released, a timestamp property such as <sent> in News Message should be used.

<date.expire>

@validto

The <remoteContent> wrapper may have a Time Validity Attribute of @validto.

<doc-scope>

Area of interest that is not a Category, for example geographic: “of interest to people living in Toronto”. This is not the same intention as a <subject> of Toronto, which means “about” or “linked to” Toronto. If content should be seen by “Equity Traders” but is not of the Subject “Equities”, then the NewsML-G2 <audience> property may be used.

In NITF, this is intended to indicate that the article is one of a series of articles, its place in the order of the series, out of a total number of articles in the series. The NewsML-G2 equivalent <memberOf> is a Flex1PropType which may take a controlled or uncontrolled value.

<ed-msg>

As with NITF, the type of message may be indicated by @role in NewsML-G2

< du-key>

None

NITF uses this property for maintaining a network of relationships to other versions of the same article. NewsML-G2 uses GUID, versioning and, if necessary, Links, to maintain this information

19.3. Content metadata <body.head>

The contents of <body.head> a broadly equivalent to those of <contentMeta>, although this is not universally true. The following table lists the child elements of <body.head> and their NewsML-G2 equivalents.

When conveying NITF in a NewsML-G2 document, some properties of <body.head> may be retained in the NITF document, since they may be part of the structural content of the article, such as <hedline> (note spelling) and <byline>. These properties may optionally be copied into their NewsML-G2 equivalents.

NITF element	NewsML-G2 equivalent	Comment
<hedline>	<headline>	NewsML-G2 <headline> is contained in <contentMeta> and may appear any number of times. It can be refined by using @role to express the NITF notions of main headline <hl1> and subhead <hl2>
<note>	Various	An advisory for editors may be equivalent to NewsML-G2 <edNote>in <itemMeta>, but NITF <note> has a number of uses, including expressing copyright, and may also be publishable. Provider’s migrating from NITF to NewsML-G2 will need to identify the intention of their use of <note> and choose from several NewsML-G2 properties that express this intention, for example <rightsInfo> (a property of an Item root element), or <description> (part of <contentMeta>) with a @role defining its purpose. Customers converting an NITF service to NewsML-G2 will need to consult with their provider, either directly or via documentation.
<rights>	< rightsInfo>	See section on <docdata>
<byline>	<by>	Part of <contentMeta>
<distributor>	<provider>	<provider> is a mandatory property of NewsML-G2 <itemMeta>
<dateline>	< dateline>	NewsML-G2 <dateline> is part of <contentMeta>
< abstract>	< description>	NewsML-G2 <description> is part of <contentMeta> and may be refined by @role. The IPTC Description Role NewsCodes value would be “summary”
<series>	<memberOf>	See section on <docdata>

NITF element

NewsML-G2 equivalent

Comment

NewsML-G2 <headline> is contained in <contentMeta> and may appear any number of times. It can be refined by using @role to express the NITF notions of main headline <hl1> and subhead <hl2>

<note>

Various

An advisory for editors may be equivalent to NewsML-G2 <edNote>in <itemMeta>, but NITF <note> has a number of uses, including expressing copyright, and may also be publishable. Provider’s migrating from NITF to NewsML-G2 will need to identify the intention of their use of <note> and choose from several NewsML-G2 properties that express this intention, for example <rightsInfo> (a property of an Item root element), or <description> (part of <contentMeta>) with a @role defining its purpose. Customers converting an NITF service to NewsML-G2 will need to consult with their provider, either directly or via documentation.

< rightsInfo>

See section on <docdata>

<by>

Part of <contentMeta>

<provider> is a mandatory property of NewsML-G2 <itemMeta>

< dateline>

NewsML-G2 <dateline> is part of <contentMeta>

< abstract>

< description>

NewsML-G2 <description> is part of <contentMeta> and may be refined by @role. The IPTC Description Role NewsCodes value would be “summary”

See section on <docdata>

19.4. Body Content <body. content>

NewsML-G2 has no specific mark-up for text, and NITF is a valid choice for marking up text to be conveyed by NewsML-G2 <inlineXML>.

LISTING 21: An NITF marked-up article conveyed in <inlineXML>

<contentSet>
    <inlineXML contenttype="application/nitf+xml">
        <nitf xmlns="http://iptc.org/std/NITF/2006-10-18/"
            xsi:schemaLocation="http://iptc.org/std/NITF/2006-10-18/ 
            ./nitf-3-6.xsd">
            <body>
                <body.head>
                   <hedline>
                       <hl1>Arizona Diamondbacks (29-23) at Philadelphia Phillies
                           (26-24), 7:05p.m.</hl1>
                   </hedline>
                   <byline>
                       <byttl>Sports Network</byttl>
                   </byline>
                   <abstract>
                       <p>A pair of teams coming off big weekend sweeps will square off
                           Tonight at Citizens Bank Park, where the Philadelphia Phillies
                           welcome the Arizona Diamondbacks for the start of a three-game
                           series.</p>
                   </abstract>
                </body.head>
                <body.content>
                   <p>(Sports Network) - With the Philadelphia Phillies picking
                       up momentum after their three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves,
                       and the Arizona Diamondbacks capturing all four of their games
                       against the Houston Astros, tonight's game at Citizen Bank Park
                       looks set to be a clash of the Titans.</p>
                </body.content>
            </body>
        </nitf>
    </inlineXML>
</contentSet>

19.5. End of Body <body.end>

There is no formal equivalent to the <body.end> container in NewsML-G2. It’s placement at the end of <body.content> expresses its significance in the format of an article. So it is possible that they would need to be retained in the NITF content conveyed in <inlineXML>, or expressed in another mark-up language.

The NewsML-G2 equivalent of <tagline> would be <by> with a @role if necessary to refine its use. <bibliography> may be expressed using NewsML-G2 <description> with a @role. Their placement relative to the parent text is a processing issue – NewsML-G2 is format-agnostic.