Newspaper now known as HeraldStandard.com
Val J. Laub, vice president and publisher, is announcing that the newspaper is changing its name to HeraldStandard.com.
“Effective today, we are going with a new nameplate that’s already being used on our website,” said Laub. “With the new technology we’ve been using in the last few years, we’re always very conscious that many of our readers are changing their habits of getting news and advertising information from print products to digital products. That’s an area that’s been growing in our readership.”
He continued, “While our print readership has been down in the last 10 years, overall our readership is bigger than ever. Our monthly average is about 170,000 readers.”
The readership comes from the combined total of products, including the newspaper, which is published Sunday through Friday; the HeraldStandard E-edition, which is delivered by email; HeraldStandard.com website, which offers print information, slide shows, videos and interactive features constantly; County Life, a weekly total market coverage newspaper; and Greene County Messenger, a weekly newspaper that covers Greene County.
“We have a much greater readership of our products and it’s growing. The biggest growth is digital and mobile,” said Laub.
The newspaper has maintained a long and distinguished presence in southwestern Pennsylvania, tracing the print product to 1797. But the company always has been ready to embrace new technology, with the website being launched in 1996, opening an avenue for more readers.
Website and mobile readership now comes from all over the country instead of limiting readership to areas where the newspaper can be delivered by carrier or mail. Readers can find updated news on their computers or on their mobile phones that also can pick up HeraldStandard.com through the Internet as well as from the H-S app (application).
As a result, news can be brought more quickly to readers, with information added to the website and mobile products as it happens rather than in the next day’s edition of the print product. That change has garnered more readership than ever as people seek to keep up to date on news happening in their community.
The change in the nameplate of the newspaper reflects the link between the print and digital products, Laub said.
Laub said the idea for the name change developed over the last year as the company adopted a new content management system called Town News that offers programs not only for the website but for the newspaper as well, making it easier to produce news on a variety of platforms: print, web and mobile.
The company launched the new website on Feb. 14, launched the new print system on March 27 and the mobile content on April 18.
“Town News is a great system that we’re proud to have,” said Laub.
He further noted the new technology that’s been used for the past year by reporters and photographers, including Notebook laptop computers and Droid cellphones with photography and video capabilities that allow journalists to send news and photographs from the scene. The website and mobile app report breaking stories through HS News Now.
“People want news now,” said Laub. “If they see a fire, explosion or bad wreck, they want to know what is happening. With Calkins Media, our intention is to deliver that. We have a fantastic newsroom. They have embraced the new technology. The Herald-Standard has always been a leader in the community with technology and with that came this idea.”
He continued, “So on Easter Sunday, we’re unveiling the new nameplate and logo of our print product, which is the exact title of our digital product, HeraldStandard.com.”
Laub gave credit to James Newmeyer of the Interactive Media department for developing the logo, which will be found on the top left-hand corner of the newspaper’s section fronts and eventually on the newspaper’s vending machines and delivery trucks.
Joanne Hunt, Interactive Media/Classified director, said, “It’s an exciting time to be part of the industry. It’s a chance to deliver what our readers/viewers want — local news fast. And we offer interaction on our website with user-generated commenting, blogging and the ability to post stories and photos.
“We have a new feature just released called ‘Everyday and You.’ You can find it in the top navigation bar at HeraldStandard.com. ‘Everyday and You’ will offer information on healthy living, education and business initiatives going on in and around our communities. We are so excited with the addition of this section. We have a great group of local business professionals who will be contributing content here so look for columns from them in the near future. We want people to get involved in our discussions so keep an eye on ‘Everyday and You’ and give us your stories, photos, videos, comments, questions and feedback,” she said. “The name change does make a statement. It lets people know where we’re going.”
Mark C. O’Keefe, executive editor, said of the name change, “It’s a sign of the times. We have been doing a lot of things on the web and HeraldStandard.com has been more accepted. Now we have a lot more capabilities and we’re integrating print and media to come up with the best products possible. In a way, it makes sense. Local news is our niche. The ways people get it is up to them. We have a lot more capabilities than we had in the past.”
Laub said of the name change, “It is a progressive, futuristic statement that we want to develop and grow and continue to provide information for our customers. It’s a fresh approach. We’re showing that we want to produce news for our readers and our digital products have more capabilities.
“But we want to satisfy all our readers — those who want the newspaper, who like to smell the ink and cut out stories and pictures that they can put on their refrigerator or mail to Grandma and others who want to pick up a phone and read news or get it on their laptops and computers,” he said. “HeraldStandard.com has all those capabilities and readers can post their own pictures and video. They can read our online archives that go back to 2002. It’s great technology and we’re embracing it. As a result, thousands of people are finding their way to HeraldStandard.com every day.”