Times reaching out to wider audience with its free Web site

The Watertown Daily Times has launched a redesigned, free Web site today in a bid to increase the newspaper's audience size, expand advertising options and offer new content.

The Web site, which will have the same Web address as the newspaper's previous site, will include the same content as the print edition. It also will feature breaking news, multimedia content and other special features.

By doing away with the paid subscriptions of the previous version, though, newspaper officials say they hope to reach a wider readership and become more competitive in the digital marketplace.

"The best thing about it is, we're going to bring all the quality journalism to a much broader audience on a timely basis," said John B. Johnson Jr., editor and co-publisher of the Times.

He said the Web site is the latest in a long line of innovations for the newspaper.

"I'm sure in 1861 when this newspaper became a daily after 10 years as a weekly, no one envisioned anything like this," he said. "It's another way to expand the reach, the distribution of news and information."

Work on the Web site began last April, when the Times contracted with Tampa, Fla.-based Saxotech Inc. At the time of the conversion, the Web site had 1,000 paid subscribers.

"This opens up doors to us to reach several segments of the population we may be reaching indirectly today," said John B. Johnson, the elder Johnson's son and the newspaper's advertising director.

The Web site might prove attractive to families of soldiers stationed at Fort Drum, for example, who want to stay on top of news out of the local community but may not have paid for the site before, he said.

Advertisers also have reacted positively to the news of a redesigned, subscription-free Web site, the younger Mr. Johnson said. He expects the site eventually to attract a number of smaller businesses by continuing to offer what he described as the "depth of news coverage, exceptional reporting, insightful editorials."

"What it allows us to do is have another product in our portfolio to deliver the best product for our advertisers," Mr. Johnson said.

Mr. Johnson said he expected the Web site to increase, rather than take away from, the audience for the newspaper's print version.

"Our readership was evolving and we needed to be where our readership wanted us to be," he said. "So now we're here."

Robert D. Gorman, managing editor of the Watertown Daily Times, agreed that some people will always prefer to read a print version of the news.

"The idea that one is replacing the other is somewhat of a misnomer," he said. "It's actually just providing a different way for people to find information about their community."

Eventually, the Web site will be able to feature more multimedia presentations, search tools and pages dedicated to specific issues, Mr. Gorman said.

"We've already added breaking news on the existing site," he said. "That's where we'll excel because we have more staff, more contacts, more knowledge, more resources."