STAFF REPORT
Among other things, the new year will bring a redesigned website and enriched content to the Hays Free Press website.
Starting in February, the website will expand and add premium content, including more video, special news updates, community features and deals from local merchants.
Subscribers to the print version of the Hays Free Press will get access to the premium content at no extra charge. Online readers who don’t take the Hays Free Press in print will still have access to basic news and information, but will have to subscribe or pay a fee online to get full access.
“We’re trying to stay ahead of the curve in a growing community,” said Hays Free Press publisher Cyndy Slovak-Barton. “This gives readers more choices and will allow advertisers to target combinations of audiences online and in print – while rewarding the loyal subscribers who have made us the most-read newspaper in Hays County.”
The Hays Free Press is the only news media – print or electronic – focused primarily on Kyle, Buda and the Hays school district. It also provides relevant coverage of the surrounding area and Hays County.
The website, HaysFreePress.com, already attracts tens of thousands of readers each week, and about two million page views a year. Barton said the redesign and added content should make it even more attractive, to both readers and to businesses looking for ways to reach both newcomers and established families.
Look for more details in the January editions of the Hays Free Press, and online in the new year.
In addition to the print and online newspapers, the Hays Free Press also publishes a monthly magazine, All Around Hays; a Spanish-language news product, La Presna Libre de Hays; and a number of specialty publications and special editions – for newcomers, special events, business, health care and more. The print version of the newspaper has won numerous state and national awards for general excellence, local news coverage, sports, local humor and opinion columns, as well as photography, making it one of the most recognized independent local newspapers in the state.
“We’re proud to be a locally owned, family business, and proud to be a community-minded newspaper,” Barton said. “But we also recognize the world is changing – and to continue to grow we need to offer our hometown customers even more sophisticated options that take advantage of new technology. We’re still an old-fashioned newspaper in spirit, but in fact we’re moving to become a modern information company, with a place for all kinds of readers.”
