EditorialsViewpoints

Welcome to the new JTNews.net

By

Joel Magalnick

,

Editor, JTNews

After months of building and designing, the new jtnews.net Web site is now live! We encourage you to visit the site, but here are a few tips and features we hope you’ll start to use on a regular basis.
You may notice that you now have the option of registering to become a member of our site. Registration is free, and you can rest assured that we do not share your information with anyone. With the exception of lifecycles and calendar submissions, we currently do not require users to be logged in, but in the next few months some sections of the site will be available only to registered users.
Community and World News: While our regular news items will continue to be updated on our publication date every two weeks, we will post breaking news items throughout the week, so be sure to check back. Also, we are now posting regular news updates and daily news briefs from JTA on the World News section of our site. Arts stories can be found in the arts section, along with any upcoming arts events.
Viewpoints and Columnists: Opinion pieces, letters, Rabbi’s Turn, and our regular columnists that you know and love are now online, including past articles! Navigating to any of these is simple — just click on the navigation menu on your left.
The Calendar: Our new calendar is one of the parts of the site we’re most excited about. On the bottom of our front page, view any day’s event during the current month by simply clicking on the date. Once you get into the calendar itself, however, your options open wide!
You can choose to see everything available for the day, or by using the dropdown menu under the full month view, you can break down events by type. We’ve got adult education events, arts events, Israeli dancing and more. If you think there’s a type that’s missing, let us know and we can consider adding it to the list.
Our goal with the new JTNews calendar is to become a central source in our local community to find anything going on, whether it’s Torah study, a concert, youth group meetings or a tot Shabbat service.
While our online events listings are expansive, keep in mind that we have limited space in the newspaper, so we will have to be selective about what goes into print. Daily events and most religious services will not be printed in the paper, but we will strive to ensure that every single-occurring event does make it into print.
For the first time, you can now submit your own listings to JTNews online. Simply click on the Calendar link at the left side of the screen, then click on “Submit Calendar Event.”
Fill out the form, submit, and you’re done! You can submit once-occurring events and daily or weekly events — we just ask that the event be Jewish in nature. The event will appear online pending approval from our calendar editor.
Remember, regular deadlines still apply — 10 days before publication date — if the event is to be printed in the paper.
Lifecycles: Catch up on weddings, births, B’nai Mitzvah and obituaries, updated each Friday we publish the paper version of JTNews. Submit your own event by clicking on the submit link on the right side of the page. You can even upload a digital photo! You may also download a form and send it in via e-mail or regular mail. Also new — we will now begin accepting conversions as a lifecycle event, though only via downloadable form. Publication deadlines apply for lifecycles as well.
Archives: You’ve asked for them, and they’re back! Click on the Archives link and search by section or keyword. The rebuilding of our archives is still in process, but if you would like to help us with this effort, we’re looking for a few volunteers. Just send an e-mail to editor@jtnews.net or call us at 206-441-4553.
Professional Services Directory: View providers of all types of services offered from our sponsors.
Additional Web necessities: Deadlines, contact information, and advertising information can be found running across the top of each page of the site. And if you’re interested in advertising online, contact our publisher Karen Chachkes at publisher@jtnews.net .