Sooke News Mirror
In this age of changing media, everybody has no doubt been wondering what’s going to happen to their local newspaper.
Well, you’re about to find out. Today is the dawning of a new day, for your community newspaper, the Sooke News Mirror.
The media landscape has been revolutionized in recent years and at the Sooke News Mirror we have positioned ourselves to make use of that new technology to serve our readers better.
A decade or so ago, we initially grasped the Internet like a shiny new toy and began throwing stories and pictures onto it. We also opened our stories up for interactivity and felt, “Ah, we’re digital.”
But then that shiny new toy got bigger and bigger and started going faster and faster because consumers demanded more. So, we decided to get on board with the improved technology.
Today the Sooke News Mirror reinvents itself. From a newspaper that had a digital platform, the Sooke News Mirror is now a multimedia company focused on a digital platform, but which is still dedicated to delivering the traditional newspaper that’s so familiar to many.
There’s been a shift in our readership. Today, many people consume their news and information differently than they did even 10 years ago. Today digital is king. That’s nothing new but what is new is that mobile is now the crown jewel.
More people are accessing news and information from mobile devices than ever before. The average smartphone user picks up their phone 150 times a day – once every nine minutes. It’s even taking over from the desktop – or laptop – computer.
It’s been a game changer in our hands for some time now.
The Sooke News Mirror had to grasp that device (figuratively and literally) if it was to remain relevant to information consumers.
Today we launch our new website (but with the same address – www.sookenewsmirror.com) to bring you the news, information and advertising in the way you want it, whether it’s on your mobile phone, tablet or computer and, yes, in the traditional newspaper form as well – there are still many people loyal to the tangible act of holding a newspaper in their hands. And they won’t be left behind.
But the reality is, many other – it might even be most other – news consumers get their information from mobile devices. And it’s growing.
So, today we have gone to a responsive website that will work on any device. All our stories, pictures and videos will give you the same news experience no matter what device you receive it on.
And it will do it better in a nicer looking, better organized layout that is easy to navigate.
But it’s not just a matter of delivery, it’s also a matter of what’s being delivered.
We will deliver a bigger and better news experience by making use of new, powerful publishing technology.
Our digital platform means our news staff have had to change their way of thinking, as well, to give you what you have demonstrated you want.
We are no longer weekly newspaper reporters with a couple of deadlines per week. We are now a daily – even hourly – news team.
As soon as news comes in, our digital platform gives us the ability to deliver it to you within minutes.
We’re a broadcaster too
And it’s not just the words. It’s not just stories.
We are now also a broadcaster. Our new website platform will have more video and more ways to play it.
And our video material is available through a concurrent video channel called BPTV (Black Press TV). BPTV will have an extensive reach in its own right, bringing video content to all devices and platforms.
We’ll also make use of our extensive social media audience. Our stories – your stories – will be shared far and wide on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels.
For advertisers, our digital technology gives local businesses a massive reach. Advertisers will be able to put their ads across thousands of sites. Advertisers can target ideal customers based on age, gender, location, home address, even native language.
They can also target audiences based on what those audiences are doing via search history, online content consumption, transactions, browsing behaviour and clicks.
Those customers will be attracted to the news and information – the content – on the Sooke News Mirror’s website because the paper that delivered the news faithfully for 46 years has stepped up to the new digital technology to deliver it the way readers have shown they want it. And that means we will continue to deliver it for another 46 years.
Over 64 per cent of Sooke News Mirror readers read the online version at least once per week.
And through the online version of the Sooke News Mirror you can read the stories that make this region so great to live in. You can see, in photos and videos, the people and the events that make our lives so dynamic. You can interact with those stories and you can even help shape the stories that get told by easily sending the news team news tips, story ideas and photos using the online form accessed via our website.
In the end, it’s still about news, sports, entertainment and people. It’s just that now you’ll get more of it, you’ll get it sooner. And in the palm of your hand.
