It's back.
After several years of inactivity, The Daily Helmsman re-launched its Website Tuesday.
Formerly hosted on The University's server, the new site, www.dailyhelmsman.com, debuted with continuous updates on the presidential election throughout out night.
Online editor Jeff Webber said the site includes all of the elements of the newspaper plus some additional features.
"The site not only provides stories and pictures from the paper," Webber said. "The site provides the ability for stories to be updated at any time, day or night."
According to Webber, the new site offers students free e-mail and online polls on topics such as the 2000 election and other issues. Students can see the results of the polls in bar graph form.
"The e-mail is an added feature. We want to make our site more of a portal instead of a direct online version of the newspaper," Webber said. "We want other features that people can use. The e-mail is great. It is web-based and easy to use and set-up."
Webber said students can pick their own username and have as many accounts as they want. There are links on each page to sign up for the e-mail service. The new Website also has a search feature to access archived stories.
Daily Helmsman editor in chief Chuck Holliday said the revised Website was needed to increase readership of the paper.
"The Website is a wonderful opportunity to increase our readership to an area outside of the college community," Holliday said. "The new site will allow alumni and others who would not normally receive it to read the paper."
The Daily Helmsman site is being hosted by Campus Engine, a provider of Internet technologies to college and university newspapers worldwide. The company provides national advertising and other features such as access to other schools.
"The site is a business proposition," Webber said. "Campus Engine assists in setting up the site, provides hosting and sells (national) ads, splitting the revenue with our paper."
Campus Engine location manager Leslie Gazeley said The Daily Helmsman is one of 98 campus websites around the country.
"The Campus Engine service is a great program for college papers to join the new medium -- the Internet," Gazeley said. "We are here to help every step of the way."
Webber said the site is managed as a separate entity from The University.
"The paper is a business and it wouldn't be ethical to link a non-profit entity, like the school to a profit service like the paper's Website," Webber said.
The other features of the site include "U of M Events," an interactive counterpart to the print edition's "U of M This Week."
"It allows you look through events past, present, and future, stretching across several months," Webber said.
Candy Justice, general manager of The Daily Helmsman, said the site is an excellent way to keep readers informed.
"We think it is wonderful," Justice said. "It's a way to inform readers in every way possible, including print and online."
Webber said the best feature of the service is the ability of viewers to post comments about each article.
"This provides an opportunity for live feedback about stories," Webber said. "You can post instant comments."
"For the future, we're also looking at other features, like instant messaging and a set of e-mail addresses for staff members."
The site weathered a few glitches on its first day and is not, as of yet, completely compatible with some older browsers. But Webber said he feels the site has been running fairly smoothly.
Journalism chairman Jim Redmond said the Website is a critical means of training for The Daily Helmsman staff.
"It is vital in the developing world of the Internet that The Daily Helmsman provide an online version for their readers," Redmond said. "The Website is an excellent way the staff can learn about Internet journalism and how to produce copy for the medium."
