More than a year after launching a new website that offers exclusive content to subscribers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Thursday unveiled a better organized and more informative breaking news website users can continue to access for free.
The new AJC.com offers easier navigation for improved access to breaking news headlines, weather and traffic, in addition to videos, photo galleries, commenting and easier sharing on social media.
Newspapers across the country are investing heavily in digital products to serve existing readers and attract newcomers who increasingly are relying on smartphones, tablets and desktop computers for news and information.
“In many, many ways, this is responding to change that our readers have asked for and really wanted from us to modernize the site,” Publisher Amy Glennon said. “It takes much greater advantage of what technology allows you to do now in the digital space.”
The redesigned site also offers:
• More links from stories to related content, such as videos, photo galleries and additional articles.
• Down-page navigation that allows users to scan an even wider variety of articles and topics.
• More coverage of communities closer to home and continued access to the latest on Atlanta’s best food, music, arts and more.
• Prominent blogs and the latest chatter on everything from sports to business, as well as more opportunities to comment on stories in real time.
• More sharable updates for quicker and easier postings to personal Facebook, Twitter and Google+ accounts.
• Mobile users will now have the same significantly improved experience as desktop users, including easier navigation of the site on their smartphone or tablet.
“People are moving and interacting with content in so many different ways now, and we’re always thinking about how best to offer our content in the way they want it, where they want it, when they want it,” Glennon said. “This is part of a long-term strategy.”
The AJC.com redesign followed the launch in April 2013 of the premium myAJC.com website. The premium site gives subscribers access to in-depth articles, exclusive photo galleries and searchable databases. In many cases, shorter versions of the myAJC.com articles are available on AJC.com.
While access to AJC.com remains free of charge, myAJC.com is available as a digital-only subscription and is also included at no additional cost with home delivery print subscriptions.
Subscribers also continue to have access to the newspaper’s AJCePaper, which allows them to read the print edition replica on digital devices in a familiar page-by-page format.
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