Every seven years, it is said, you become a different person. The scientific data is questionable, but armchair scientists propagate the idea that all the cells in a human body die and are replaced within seven years. In essence, we are renewed, changed, fresh.
Judaism, with its organic wisdom, is replete with sevens: seven-year cycles of plentiful crops, seven-year famines, seven fat cows, seven blessings at weddings, the seventh day as Shabbat, the seventh month as the head of the year, the shmittah (Sabbatical year).
The Chronicle is marking a similar milestone. Seven years after we launched our first Web site, in February 2001, we are renewing our online presence. Last Friday, May 2, the new Chronicle Web site (www.jewishchronicle.org) went live, and it is carrying our community newspaper into a new age.
Clean and easy to navigate, the new site has many new features — a weekly poll, an easily searchable database, interactive candle lighting times, online life cycle form, change of address forms and more.
Readers can now write directly to Chronicle staff members, send articles to friends and sign up to receive articles in their inbox via an RSS feed. Advertisers not only can receive detailed information online, but will also soon be able to place ads on the site.
The new site, which is updated daily, represents a fundamental change for The Chronicle. We will now be able to respond to breaking news and provide up-to-date coverage.
The new model is more dynamic, more interactive. And it is just the beginning. Within the month, a series of new features will go live, including a staff blog, multimedia features, online letter-to-the-editor forms, the ability to comment on articles, and more.
Visitors to the site can now register for e-news alerts, which will bring the news right into your inbox. Those alerts will be sent weekly and in the case of breaking news.
The next phase of our Web site, beginning this summer, will focus on interactive features to engage readers in new ways. These new ways to connect also help The Chronicle fulfill another important part of its role — to serve as an easy and inviting entry point into the community.
We’re hoping that the site will become not only a portal into the state Jewish community for unengaged Jews or for community members who have moved away, but also a portal out into the larger Jewish world.
On our pages — in print and online — readers can tune in to the issues of the day, learn about controversies near and far, and discover the variety of ways that our world community “does Jewish.”
Renovating our Web site is just one part of The Chronicle’s transformation. We are beginning a long-term review of The Chronicle that will examine all aspects of the paper, from finances to format.
Led by Chronicle publisher, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, the review constitutes an opportunity to look at the paper with fresh eyes, assess changing needs, and help create the best possible local Jewish publication.
But one thing has not shifted at The Chronicle — the importance of our readers. Whereas The Chronicle staff acts as stewards of this 87-year old Jewish community newspaper, you are its soul.
As we move forward, we want to hear your voice. Explore the site, try new features and share your reactions. Tell us about your lifecycle events and story ideas. Your contribution will help us make our community newspaper an even more dynamic and useful resource.
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