There has been much written and much said about the state of newspapers and journalism in an ever-evolving world of technology.
With the rise in popularity of the Internet as a source for news, and the creation of various services like Google News that provide all of the news from a variety of outlets at a central point, it is clear that media as a whole needs to embrace the Internet and the opportunities it provides.
It’s certainly something I’ve tried to do as the editor of The Prince Rupert Northern View, with daily updates at thenorthernview.com making their way onto the Google News Feed and twitter and breaking news stories being posted and updated on the site as more information becomes available.
Admittedly it took a bit of a change in mentality from someone whose background has always been in the weekly newspaper medium - from the Omega Student Newspaper to the Northeast Weekly to Look Inside. Frankly it’s still something that I’m adjusting to. But it is certainly something that I’m a big fan of now that the potential is there.
And it is with that in mind that I’m proud to say we at The Prince Rupert Northern View are taking another step toward embracing the power of the Internet with the addition of our e-editions online.
The link may not be the easiest to find - it’s down in the bottom right hand corner of thenorthernview.com - but e-editions offer a number of advantages. Essentially, what you are holding now in your hand is now online in its entirety, complete with advertisements, photos, classified pages and so on. It takes the paper out to the world, so anyone anywhere can see pictures of their family members in the paper or people looking to move to Prince Rupert can easily access the classifieds.
It also has features that can make reading the paper easier, such as the ability to zoom in and make the font as large as you’d like. And if you see something you’d like in an ad that has an e-mail or web site, in the full screen mode you can click on the web site to visit the site or the e-mail address to send off a message. It also serves as an archive for older issues back to the start of 2011.
It’s just one more way we’re moving forward in the online media world. Hope you enjoy it.