Newsdesk.org has chosen the open-source and massively extensible Word Press platform for its 2010 Web site relaunch.
San Francisco designer Willo O’Brien and technologist Andrew A. Peterson worked closely with Newsdesk.org editor George Shirk to develop a new site, which sports plenty of social-media and self-promotional muscle, along with an elegant, clean design.
Article pages are uncluttered, with just two columns, and the entire site is completely free of advertising. This keeps the user experience focused on the reporting, plus relevant semantic and social content — from comments and crowdsourced referrals to tag clouds and topically related stories.
The site also automatically detects mobile devices and delivers content to them in a simplified format.
Over time, the site will be fine-tuned to increase functionality, and deepen each article as an informational and promotional resource for important but overlooked issues and underserved communities.
The new Web site source code is available for free to qualified independent journalists who want develop affiliate sites serving their communities. For details, please contact Josh Wilson, Publisher, at 415-321-4901, or via e-mail.
Wow ! Excellent, thank you all. Especially for the new, uncluttered eMail.