Herald-Mail launches redesign of website

New features include popular stories from around the Web and enhanced weather features

December 15, 2010|By JULIE E. GREENE | julieg@herald-mail.com

The Herald-Mail Co. launched a redesigned website Wednesday morning that added several features, including one that allows readers to see in real time which online stories are viewed the most, said Liz Thompson, the company’s digital director.

The website's address, www.herald-mail.com, remains the same. Other new features include popular stories from around the Web and enhanced weather features such as local radar on the homepage and weather page.

The site also will make it easier for readers to find components of special news reports that could include multiple stories and photographs.

The new look is tied to a new content-management system owned by Tribune Digital, a subsidiary of the Tribune Co., Thompson said.

The Herald-Mail, and other newspapers, radio stations and TV stations that are owned by Schurz Communications Inc., are switching to the Tribune's system, Thompson said.

The move allows Herald-Mail.com to use stories, photos and videos from other Schurz news agencies and Tribune news agencies such as The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, she said.

The switch also results in savings in cost and maintenance of the Schurz news subsidiaries' websites, Thompson said.

One early issue with the new website was readers' inability to post comments on stories. That issue was resolved later Wednesday, Thompson said.

Readers who were registered at The Herald-Mail's old website will need to re-register at the new site so they can post comments.

They can do this with an e-mail address or through several social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter. Some tips and insights into the new website are posted at The Herald-Mail's Facebook page — www.facebook.com/TheHeraldMail.

The website for Antietam Cable Television, which also is owned by Schurz Communications, was not affected by the changes, Thompson said.

|

|

|