Welcome to the new News-Times
You’ve probably noticed a few changes in today’s edition of the El Dorado News-Times.
Today is the first complete edition to feature our new look. It debuted last Sunday, with new inside pages appearing throughout the week. Today’s edition includes the new sports and living sections.
The new look is just a part of what we are working on here at the newspaper. We are also working on some new content features and sections to make the News-Times more accessible to our readers.
With the proliferation of digital devices, such as tablets, smart phones, laptops and smart watches — along with the ever growing 24-hour news cycle on TV — sometimes it seems like we are overwhelmed with information.
But journalism isn’t just about information. Journalism is about finding the truth and following the facts, wherever they lead, and relating the story to the reader in an accurate and readable manner.
Ultimately, our job is not to just gather information, but to present it to the readers in a manner that is both engaging and useful. To that end, we will be asking for more reader participation in the coming days.
We have started a From Our Readers photo segment where we will feature submitted photographs. If you see something interesting, beautiful, scary or just weird, take a photo with your cellphone and send it to us at editorial@eldoradonews.com and we’ll share it with our readers.
If you have interesting, historic photos of Union County or El Dorado you would care to share with our readers, bring them by our office or email us a scan of the photo and we will publish them as well. If you need us to scan the photo just stop by the office at 111 N. Madison Ave. and we will scan the photo while you wait — at no charge, of course.
We are also going to be offering polls both online and in the print edition of the newspaper on various topics and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
We run a weekly calendar, and we want to announce your upcoming events before they happen, so send us your information to either editorial@eldoradonews.com or drop it by our office.
Also, we are also always looking for people, events and organizations to profile, either for the newspaper or for Bella magazine. If you know of a someone who should be featured, or if you are in an organization or event that the readers need to know about, drop us an email or call us at 870-862-6611 and ask for Randal or Janice.
Finally, there’s the opinion page. If you have a topic you enjoy, or a bone you want to pick, you can always write a letter to the editor and make your voice heard. Letters can be mailed, hand delivered or emailed, but include a signature and a contact phone number. No anonymous letters will be published.
Way back when, before there were computers in every home and before telephones took photos and played movies, the newspaper was the social media for a community and it still is the original and archival medium.
Even as we change our look, we strive to continue to fulfill our role as a community newspaper with excellence and commitment to you, our reader, as the first source of information for El Dorado and Union County.
Newspapers are the first draft of history, and the El Dorado News-Times is the historical record of all the lives and events that have happened in our communities for the past 127 years.
We take that role seriously, but we also want to make our newspaper accessible and fun to read.
If you live in Union County, we want to be a part of your daily routine. We want to be your newspaper.