UK: Jewish Chronicle revamp

The UK's venerable Jewish Chronicle has added social networking to its website revamp, reports this Marketing story by Alison Donnelly.

LONDON - The Jewish Chronicle has launched a social network in the latest stage of its major website overhaul.

Users of thejc.com can now upload their own photos and videos, write blogs, or comment on news stories on the site. The launch is the latest addition to the site, which is undergoing a major overhaul with the aim of increasing user interactivity.

Last month, the Beta version of the site was launched, enabling the weekly title to break news stories online, post video reports, and host blogs written by columnists.

The website features video footage of London's Salute to Israel parade, football highlights, and quirkier contributions such as Grandma's Kugel Recipe, which shows viewers how to make a traditional Jewish dessert.

The newspaper hopes to make video reports a regular feature on the site and editorial staff are to receive training on how to present to camera.

Jewish Chronicle managing editor Richard Burton said: 'A lot of the bigger papers are finding it hard to identity communities within their readership. What struck me was that we had a ready-made community and the opportunity to harness that.'

Conde Nast has lured the Jewish Chronicle's editor, David Rowan, to edit its forthcoming UK version of Wired magazine, which is due to launch, both in print and online, in the first half of 2009.

Very interesting and good to hear! The venerable JC is doing what many US-based Jewish papers should be doing.

This article pointed up the discussions at the American Jewish Press Association conference back in June, when members discussed the future of newspapers in America for three days. The bottom line was that discovering and creating niche marketing linking readers, the print and online editions is the wave of the future.