Question time: Monitor editors respond

Missing a tradition
Q: I’ve been a reader and a subscriber to the Monitor since 1968. During all these years I’d start my mornings with a good cup of tea and sit down to read my Monitor. I’d read while waiting for my bus and during the ride to work. I’d settle down with a morning cup of tea and my Monitor on Saturdays. It’s been unsettling to say the least that I must bid adieu to a pleasurable way to begin the mornings. It just ain’t the same electronically.

A: I sympathize. A laptop and a wireless connection and a "hot beverage" comes pretty close when you are at home. And the new Daily News Briefing (see Question 1 above) may give you something to read while waiting for your bus. Plus you could carry our new weekly with you.

How much news is new?
Q: The CS Monitor online seems like a cross between a daily and a weekly. This means if I read it daily there are a lot of articles that are the same from the day before and it doesn’t appear to be a whole paper full of new articles each day. Are there fewer new articles each day than before? And are major changes still coming?

I’ve been reading only online newspapers for the life of the Web. Having lived in Europe for 15 years it was my only way to get all the news on the day. I also miss graphics with the new online edition. It doesn’t seem as if as many articles have data graphics.

A: Most websites -- including those with much bigger newsrooms (the NYTimes.com, for instance) -- have a combination of new news and articles from the day before. As an old newspaper guy, that seems like a good thing to me. A great piece of writing, a popular feature, or an important investigative article would be difficult to locate in the old print days when the newspaper turned yellow and got thrown away. On the Web, good things live on. But as noted in a previous answer, we are looking at ways of pointing you to just the new news as well.

As to the number of new articles: I haven't done a precise count, but in this first week of Web-first Monitor I think we are producing the same if not more daily news articles. Our aim is to produce more, to be more timely, and to continue the Monitor tradition of perspective and analysis.

And as to graphics: We're still finding our way on this. Print graphics and Web graphics are somewhat different in presentation and execution. But we are aware of how important maps and charts are in presenting an issue, so we'll develop the right approach.
Reporters on the job
Q: Where or how do I find “Reporters on the Job,” which I used to enjoy reading? Will it be “here” but not daily as it used to be?

A: In our transition, it has been difficult to keep the "Reporters on the Job" feature going, since our International news staff has been juggling a number of new duties. Once we get up and running, we hope to revive it and to offer you access to an archive as well.

IPhone app for CSM?
Q: I really like and use the USA Today iPhone application and was wondering/hoping that the Monitor could develop this type of smartphone support. I find myself getting my news more from my phone and less from my desktop when I'm on the go, which is often.

A: We have this on our to-do list. We will probably develop a Kindle application first and then an iPhone application.

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