NITF / NewsML Cooperation

The IPTC's NewsML standard was ratified by the IPTC as Version 1.0 in September, 2001, and was designed to structure multimedia news packages. Detailed information on NewsML can found at NewsML.org.

While there is no concept in NewsML of a paragraph or subheadline, there is no concept in NITF of a sidebar or alternative translations of the same document.

Both standards do, however, contain extensive structures for metadata. In NITF, these structures are contained within its <head> and <body.head> elements. The former contains metadata (such as Document IDs and category codes) not for direct display to readers, whereas the latter contains metadata (such as headlines and bylines) that often is displayed to readers.

One recommended method that a publisher can use NITF in conjunction with NewsML calls for the migration of this metadata from NITF into NewsML. This leaves the NITF <body.content> element, which holds the substance of an article, for inclusion as the "payload" of a NewsML <NewsComponent>.

An NITF-to-NewsML Metadata Mapping Spreadsheet has been created, to suggest one recommended way to migrate NITF metadata settings into NewsML. Also, an NITF-to-NewsML Mapping Stylesheet has been created, which can be used to carry out these migration suggestions. The buttons below illustrate content in these two formats, as well as in HTML.

Description Raw NITF NewsML with NITF Payload Styled as HTML
Sample File
Mixed bag of various NITF elements.

About the transformations

The following stylesheets have been created for NITF and are available for public use. We make no guarantees as to their perfection; they are simply for use to speed the development of applications using NITF and NewsML.

  • XSLT to create NewsML: Extracts metadata content from NITF <head> and <body.head> element and moves it to NewsML properties. Keeps the NITF <body.content> payload as contents of a NewsML <NewsComponent>.
  • XSLT to Stylize NITF: Makes the content display nicely in a browser.

The sample linked-to from above were generated via the Unicorn XSLT Processor, from Unicorn Enterprises SA.


Copyright © 2002, International Press Telecommunications Council.