New online Democrat makes history
Readers of the Mountain Democrat's online paper this week have been treated to a new, improved presence that makes our news reporting immediate, lively and fresh. Using an extended open source blogging technology called WordPress, the Democrat has become the first newspaper in the country to have successfully published its entire printed newspaper
Video
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
from a pure Internet-based technology which puts a new emphasis on online content.
"The news today is happening so fast, and now our readers can check it out on the Web, as it happens, with our reporters able to send news copy and photos from the field, where the story is happening," said Publisher Richard Esposito. "We have made a 180-degree turn with this new, exciting way of publishing the news and we're thrilled with the possibilities we now can offer our readers."
As with any innovative endeavor, visitors to our Website will notice a few initial setbacks. Readers and longtime posters of comments on our Website will see that all comments posted prior to our "launch date" have been erased. Forever.
The good news, however, is that as of 3:30 p.m. Wednesday there's a new-and-improved commenting feature for our readers. One of the benefits of this feature is that comments that fall within our comment policy will now remain within those stories indefinitely.
"Readers also will notice there will appear abbreviated news stories on the Website, with reporters posting their initial stories as soon as they have valid information to share," said Dean Royal, the Democrat's online strategist. "But keep checking back, because the stories will be updated and refreshed online so that the very latest information is available as it occurs."
Royal added that many online "tools" are available with the new publishing process, and clever, cutting-edge methods are under development constantly by the paper's technical team headed by Vice President of Digital Media Joe Boydston with fine-tuning by Production Manager David Martinelli.
Publisher Esposito urges the public to take full advantage of the Democrat's "very progressive" new Website, where an environment has been created for interaction between the paper and its readers.
"As a communications and context driven organization, we believe that this revolutionary transition is a direct reflection of not only the changing demands of our industry, but our readers and communities as well. This week the oldest newspaper in California also becomes the most progressive newspaper in California," Esposito said
.
"Let us know if you see some problems with the Website and what we are offering," he said. "We are excited to offer this new world of reporting to our readers and we value your feedback."
Those wishing to offer comments and suggestions may call Esposito at 530-344-5055, Editor Michael Raffety at 530-344-5067 or Managing Editor Pat Lakey at 530-344-5066.
Pat Lakey
ConcernedOctober 31, 2010 - 5:49 pm
Having issues posting comments.
KenOctober 31, 2010 - 10:02 am
Hmm, I just noticed that RSS is being used for the commetns, so you can follow the comments via RSS, so it seems it may be there, but I haven't figured out the RSS for the News section for example...not sure if that exists or not...?
KenOctober 31, 2010 - 10:01 am
Agreed, happy to see the major upgrade to the online publishing of the newspaper. I will also still continue to receive the print format as I like to be able to read the paper that way, but the online tools allow me to catch up at different times than when I read the physical paper and it allows me to share stories with friends that are of interest. I am surprised though that you still do not offer RSS feeds. I do like to have all of my new sources in one location, I personally use my iGoogle home page to pull in a few headlines from various sources. Gives me the highlights, and when I click on them it takes me directly to the new source website. Very convenient. Any chance RSS will be introduced?
Chuck HollandOctober 28, 2010 - 10:07 pm
Its nice to see the Mt. Demo catching up with the technology of today's world. As with anything new there's a learning curve, but all in all your new look and new site will allow more readers to obtain the information they are looking for. Thanks Mt. Demo.