Durham News Service Online

Most consumers use media in very different ways now compared to just a few years ago. So much, in fact, that it can be hard to remember just how inefficient the old ways really were. Times have certainly changed for the better, and the Durham News Service is about to change, too.

In the next few weeks, the Durham News Service will be shifting to an online “news aggregator” website-style format and allow readers to subscribe to their desired interests via RSS feeds. The shift is major and it accomplishes a number of DCVB’s communication goals:

• Widen the appeal of, and access to, the Durham News Service to everyone in Durham and beyond.
• Allow readers to be more focused about what they want to read via RSS feeds.
• Convert to a website format to allow up-to-the-minute updates – much more real-time information.
• Share daily headlines about Durham from a comprehensive global media search.
• Include a DCVB staff blog about Durham, living here, and related subjects.
• Create a page that will serve as a community gathering place that is used by residents as their home page.
• Create opportunities for local businesses to communicate directly with local stakeholders.

So what does this mean for readers? Faster access to more current information updated in real time during the work week, the capacity for filtering to see stories of particular interest using tags and the ability to receive content of interest via RSS feeds.

The site will launch in the next few weeks, and instructions on how to use the site will be sent in upcoming issues of the Durham News Service. Email versions of the newsletter will still be sent for several more months, but they will change to being “recaps” or “digest versions” of what was posted on the website that week. Major research and white papers will still be sent in full in email.

As always, feedback is desired and it can be emailed here.