Five Willamette Valley newspapers add features to updated Web sites
by John Baker, editor, Canby Herald
CANBY, Ore.—The Canby Herald has launched an ambitious project to not only revamp its Web look, but to present the news, sports, features and other content on the Web site in a new and energetic way.
The first step in that process, of course, was to completely change the look of the Herald’s web presence, a process that culminated mid-month with a quiet rollout of the new site.
The Herald is the flagship property in a project that will also encompass sister Eagle newspapers in Woodburn, Newberg, Molalla and Wilsonville.
The Canby Herald’s new Web site design will provide readers with an easier navigation of the site, a fuller range of services and more opportunities to participate and advertise.
A few of the new components are the ability to comment and rate stories, photo slideshows with some stories, an easier and more functional submission ability, breaking news alerts and more. It won’t be long until we add video and audio capabilities to the site as well.
There’s too much new going on with the Canby Herald Web site to mention it all here, but rest assured it’s a site with a lot more horsepower under the hood than our previous site.
“The news staff is very excited about the site’s capabilities to instantly get stories and photos on the Web, allowing us to be more reactive to local news and events,” said John Baker, editor of the Canby Herald.
“This is a huge step in the right direction for us as a community newspaper and once we add the audio and video capabilities to the site, it should be a lot of fun for the staff and our readers.
“Once we’re all up and running, which should be in a matter of weeks, we’re going to try to expand our coverage to include more regional and county stories that will be of interest within our network,” said Baker. “This is a chance to do things like we’ve never done them before and in a way that very few community newspapers are doing them now. It’s a project filled with opportunity and we’re thrilled to be up and running.”
