Southeast Missourian leading the way in digital media

Did you know?

The Southeast Missourian's websites serve more than 3 million pageviews each month.

Crime stories are the No. 1 interest area online with business second.

There are 11,547 registered users of the comments and blogs sections of semissourian.com.

More than 1,600 area teachers and education professionals receive a special semissourian.com education e-mail newsletter every Thursday.

Stories, blogs and forums sparked more than 6,300 comments last month alone.

As consumer habits change in the way they seek news and information, the Southeast Missourian has adapted the ways it delivers.

In recent years, the newspaper has expanded its digital products, bringing the area its first local business search engine (semomarketplace.com), its first online comprehensive calendar (semoevents.com), a comprehensive text-message delivery system and numerous additions to its primary online sites, semissourian.com, semoball.com and semohousehunter.com. The Missourian has also partnered with other newspapers to bring zip2save.com, a website where readers can find circulars, coupons and deals from retailers across the country.

"For a newspaper this size, I feel we're being rather innovative," said editor Bob Miller. "We're taking calculated risks based on what our readers want and expect. In many cases, we're no longer waiting for readers to seek us for information. We're getting it to them directly through e-mails and text messages. We're also Facebooking and Tweeting. The result, I think, is that we're reaching a larger audience than ever before."

The Southeast Missourian continues to expand its audience in its niche products, launching a new seLiving Magazine in 2009 in addition to its regular publications, She Magazine, S.E. Parent, Business Today and TBY.

The newspaper also began printing a new wrap product that folds around the left third of the front page for advertising display.

The Southeast Missourian is still committed to its core product, the print newspaper, producing award-winning news coverage. In the last year, the Good Times community section has been redesigned, and more features have been added, such as pastor profiles and a photo spread. The business section has added a business question-and-answer feature that has profiled some of the area's biggest movers and shakers as well as numerous small-business owners. And it has begun publishing many of the calendar events submitted to semoevents.com on Page 2 of the newspaper each day. The Southeast Missourian was recently named in the top four newspapers in the country by the Suburban Newspapers of America for publications of less than 30,000 circulation.

"We're excited about the future here in Southeast Missouri," said Southeast Missourian publisher Jon K. Rust. "The past year had more than its fair share of challenges, but thanks to loyal readers and hardworking staff, we're poised for bigger and better. The national award is nice, but our biggest reward actually comes from those who read the newspaper daily. Thanks for making us a part of your life."