Newspapers are my favourite things.
Whether they are published daily, weekly or moment to moment, I want to read them all.
That’s getting increasingly tricky because newspapers — and media of every kind — are publishing more information more quickly and on more platforms than ever before.
The Western Producer is no different. Most of you have traditionally known us as a weekly paper, but for many years we have published weekly in print and several times a day online.
Today, our reporters also use social media to stay in touch with readers. They use Twitter on a regular basis to send breaking news, funny incidents or even personal notes out into the universe, which is another way to help you stay up to date on what’s going on. We also provide email blasts like Markets Moment.
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Farmers enrolled in crop insurance can do just as well financially when they have a horrible crop or no crop at all, compared to when they have a below average crop
This year, you will see another sea change. We have big plans for our website, which will become even more jammed with facts, stories, tools and new ways to present information. We’re pretty excited about this. We think what we will have to offer will be comprehensive, interesting, informative and even, in some cases, a lot of fun.
We will add new video and audio products and are hiring an extra staff member in the newsroom to help us get all of this moving.
That being said, we wouldn’t mind a little help from you. You know what you need from and want in a website. We’d love it if you would tell us.
Here are a few questions we’d like you to consider.
Are you familiar with our website? Do you use it? Do you like it?
If you could change three things, what would they be?
What would be the most important addition to our website?
Are you seeking more weather, markets, feature stories or cool tools to help with farming decisions?
Are things easy or difficult to find?
As far as we are concerned, the more good ideas, the better. If you have a moment, we’d love to hear from you and learn from your thoughts.
Watch for our online survey, which will soon be posted on our website.
You can also email me at joanne.paulson@producer.com (please put “website feedback” in the subject line) or feel free to use snail mail. Our address is on the inside back cover.
Can’t wait to hear from you.
