Spokane biz paper considering e-version

The Spokane Journal of Business has rolled out a mobile version of the paper and is now considering an e-edition, writes editor Linn Parrish.

Parrish writes, “This ‘e-edition’ would be available on any computer browser, but perhaps more importantly on iPhones, iPads, and some other devices through mobile browsers and the Journal’s own mobile application, which would be available for download through Apple’s app store. We don’t have a launch date yet for the e-edition, but it could be available to subscribers as early as this fall.

“For more than 25 years, the Journal has endeavored to deliver timely, accurate news about the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene business community. In return, we have been rewarded with loyal subscribers. Our market penetration, which is measured by the number of subscribers relative to the region’s population, is one of the strongest among niche business publications in the U.S.

“That said, we’re not foolish enough to think we’re immune to the trends that have affected all newspapers. In an era in which newspapers have had a prolonged period of declining subscribers and revenues, all publications must adapt. In large part, this requires papers to go where the readers are, which is increasingly online.

“In some respects, going mobile is an attempt on our part to attract emerging professionals, those who might not have grown up in an environment where a printed newspaper was a primary source of information”

Read more here.