Observer’s new web platform provides opportunity for wider offerings

I hope that by now many of you have checked out our upgraded website at www.lagrandeobserver.com . The site features a new platform and several new features. We see it as a platform to build upon.

One of the biggest changes is the structure of how to access the various components. They are now situated under The Observer nameplate — news, sports, opinion, online extras, photos, classified, etc. They are listed horizontally rather than vertically so that users don’t have to scroll down the page to see what’s available.

Observer web page users can quickly access local news, check out the most popular stories or place a classified ad. You can check out breaking national and state news, as well as view AP video stories.

Another added feature, which has already resulted in some discussion, is the opportunity to offer the “Observer Poll’’ on the web page.

The poll is intended for reader participation. For fun. It’s not a scientific sampling by any stretch of the imagination. We’ll be changing the questions regularly.

It just so happened that the launch of the new platform coincided with last week’s information meeting concerning the proposed Mount Emily Recreation Area. So we decided that should be our first question.

Some people might have mistaken the poll for Union County’s effort to ascertain opinions about whether or not the county should get involved. That’s simply not the case. The county folks, nor anyone else for that matter, had anything to do with the first question. The topic was timely. The results should not be viewed as a scientific survey.

We’ll be asking a lot of questions on the Observer Poll. Anyone who visited the new platform when it was a test site — as our old website invited readers to do — may have seen that the previous question was about shoveling sidewalks.

So, please, feel free to take part and to check the results. But don’t confuse the results with a true survey.

Another added feature is the button for “Photos.’’ Check out the most popular Observer photos and galleries, or submit a photo of your own under any one of a number of categories, from “man’s best friend’’ to  “beautiful places’’ to “art.’’

Be advised, though, that we’re looking for quality photos, not photos intended to embarrass others or in some way shock viewers. Photos  submitted to the website will be posted once we have a chance to screen them.

So if you have some photos you are proud of, why not share them with others? The site will keep tabs on what items are viewed the most.

Viewers will also see that we’re embarking on an effort to present video images online in addition to still photos and galleries (be sure to check out our latest, from last weekend’s gospel concert at McKenzie Theatre). Occasionally, as time and staffing resources permit, we’ll try to shoot video as we cover various stories and events.

We’ll also be looking at adding a place for reader comments on stories posted to the web page. And while we don’t plan to get into having staff members write blogs, we’ll be considering adding some community bloggers who could weigh in on a host of specialized topics. Gossip and sleaze, as popular as both are, won’t be among them.

Most significantly, perhaps, the new platform will also allow us to put more information online. Our plan isn’t to replicate the entire paper. Instead, our goal will be to add information that we simply don’t have room for in the daily newspaper. That could range from, say, county fair results to a variety of public records. We’ll be exploring the possibilities.

We see www.lagrandeobserver.com as an addendum to our bread and butter product that we publish six days a week. Our standards for the website, in all areas, won’t be any different than those for our newspaper. The Observer is about presenting information — whether that be in the forms of news or features.

For many of us, the website — although we’ve been doing one for seven years — remains a new form of communication. But it’s one that we realize has endless possibilities.

We’re still learning what those are. If you have ideas on how we can make the website better, or simply want to comment on the newspaper, don’t hesitate to contact us. A comment button is on the website.

Or give me a call at 963-3161 (after 11 a.m., please, when we’ve got the day’s paper wrapped up). Or send an e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

I look forward to your input.

Ted Kramer is editor/publisher of The Observer.