Mid-Week Updates Signal Publishing Change for Downtown News
Eric Richardson
[Flickr]
The Downtown News used its new twitter account to alert readers to breaking news stories this week.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The Downtown News likely caught some readers by surprise this week when the paper started pushing new stories throughout the week rather than all at once.
The weekly paper pushed five stories to its newly relaunched website between Tuesday and Thursday, the first time it has published content mid-week outside of occasional big breaking stories.
Via email, Downtown News Editor and Publisher Sue Laris talked with blogdowntown about her paper's plans for the website and the paper's new twitter account.
BLOGDOWNTOWN: While the paper has occasionally pushed breaking news stories via email and the web site, it feels like this week set a new tone for how you publish. Does it feel that way from the inside?
SUE LARIS: Yes and no. We've been chomping at the bit to do it this way for quite some time, but our old web site got in the way. With our new web site reporters can upload stories themselves once they are edited. Without a huge explanation, let's just say that the programming is simpler and more accessible now.
BD: Mixed in with the breaking news stories was an arts piece about this summer's Jules Verne film festival. What do see the mix of mid-week stories being going forward?
SL: We don't have a particular mix in mind of what happens on what day. We'll respond to what happens when it happens as much as we can. We do intend to upload new information every weekday. Our goal is to be parallel to a five-day "daily," but that's newspaper lingo. The world is no longer about how the information gets out. It's just about getting it out any way possible. We see all the features of the web and of our print products as integral.
BD: The paper also used this week to unveil its twitter account. What part do see you that playing in the process of reporting the news?
SL: Twitter is fun. People are fluid about their choices of where they get information. We plan to follow the flow, while not leaving anything crucial behind. Right now Twitter is a handy way to respond to people's curiosity about what's happening in the now.
Downtowner on April 10, 2009, at 09:50PM – #1
That's cool and all and i like the new look but I can barely read the new site because they have no margin/space on the left side of the articles, which makes it really hard to read. I wish they'd fix that formatting problem.
Sue Laris on April 11, 2009, at 10:45AM – #2
Please tell me what browser you are using and we'll look into it. Most of us at the paper use Safari because we're Mac based, but we've looked at the site in Explorer, too, last I heard.
Downtowner on April 13, 2009, at 06:11PM – #3
I use Internet Explorer, and it seems the same on a PC and a Mac - the left edge has no breathing room, on menus or in the articles. For instance the word "home" in the main menu bar runs right to the edge of the window, and the left edge of articles does the same.
Would be great to fix that.
. on April 14, 2009, at 09:11PM – #4
Same thing on Firefox, Mac and same on Safari, 3.1.2, Mac. New Downtown news layout doesn't format correctly on the left margin - article text and menu text runs off the page.
Eric Richardson (@blogdowntown) on April 14, 2009, at 10:08PM – #5
I've experienced that margin issue, but it's working just fine for me right now. I don't know that it's a browser-specific issue.