Leading the way as reading habits change

Now ever-changing technology and the speed at which we can share information has seen both it and the Yorkshire Evening Post develop an online presence.

As well as reading the latest news and in-depth analysis in print, readers can also participate in lively, interactive forums and have breaking news and exclusive audio and video content delivered to them wherever they are in Yorkshire, the country or the world thanks to the electronic platforms of the websites, direct to iPad and mobile phones.

This development is in response to the fact that people’s reading habits have changed, as David Behrens, Yorkshire Post digital editor, explains: “While newspapers are still the first choice for many, many other people prefer to get their news online or through a tablet or phone. We found in the last year or two that the number of people accessing our sites from mobile phones has risen exponentially, and so to service them we have developed mobile versions of our websites.”

Andrew Hutchinson, digital editor for the Yorkshire Evening Post adds: “ ‘At the heart of Leeds’ is our slogan and we want our website to reflect this. We want the city’s residents to make it their daily source of news, sport and entertainment for the very latest on what’s going on in Leeds and beyond.

“We are also keen to interact with them,” he says. “It’s also important that they use us to have their say on the stories and issues that matter to them on a daily basis. Leeds has a lot to be proud of and we want to celebrate that.”

Currently, the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post websites enjoy around one million unique users a month, with people accessing news, business, sport and features along with searching for jobs, cars and property through Yorkshire Post Newspapers’ websites of jobstoday, motorstoday and propertytoday, which are powered by partners jobsite.co.uk, motors.co.uk and zoopla.co.uk

Explaining the benefit of these partnerships to readers, Helen Oldham, managing director of Yorkshire Post Newspapers, Halifax Courier Ltd and Yorkshire Weekly Newspaper Group says: “It makes us a one-stop shop for most major purchases and life-changing decisions. We recognised we needed to partner with significant pure play, online organisations to deliver a high quality visitor experience for the reader.”

In the coming months, both the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post websites will be updated with better navigation, layout and interactive features to create an enhanced user experience. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter accounts will be better signposted on the home page which will lead to, later in the New Year, more improvements. These will allow the digital user to develop a profile on either newspaper’s website, with the ability to follow a particular journalist or favourite section, adapting the experience to meet individual needs.

Mark Woodward, group head of newspaper websites at Johnston Press, says: “The websites will develop to reflect audience needs and changes in the web world. Social integration is extremely important and we need to go out to where the readers are, so that means embracing Facebook and Twitter and Flickr and Pinterest – a picture led social community. We need to go to where the audiences are to keep our brands relevant to the modern consumer who does not always consume the news and information we provide in print and on our website.”

Currently, Yorkshire Post readers can subscribe to the iPad app, which includes not only full content of the print version, along with page turner software to view the paper as you would the physical product, but also multimedia content that is exclusive to the web.

Both the Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post also offer a free football app, available on both Android and iPhone. This includes live match commentary, match reports and coverage of professional Yorkshire football teams.

To subscribe to the Yorkshire Post iPad app, and receive your 30-day free trial, go to https://itunes.apple.com. The app costs £7.99 a month, but is free if you subscribe to the Yorkshire Post newspaper.

The free Yorkshire Post and Yorkshire Evening Post football app can also be downloaded from the Apple store. The Android app can be downloaded at https://play.google.com/store