Arkansas Business Publishing Group Announces Changes to Internet Publications
by October 31, 2012 3:09 pm 97 views
Arkansas Business Publishing Group of Little Rock announced Wednesday that it has launched a new version of ArkansasBusiness.com optimized for mobile platforms and will reallocate its resources to focus on its core Arkansas Business brand.
As part of that reallocation, ABPG will close ArkansasSports360.com, a daily website that has covered sports in Arkansas since 2007. The site’s ?nal day will be Friday.
“ArkansasSports360.com has attracted a tremendous audience of
passionate sports fans from throughout the state,” Olivia Farrell, ABPG chairman and CEO, said. “The site has been an engaging read and a must-visit for sports fans across the state and beyond. This is entirely to the credit of the site’s staff, contributors and freelancers.
“However, the site doesn’t ?t our company’s core mission of reaching highly targeted, niche audiences and has been dif?cult to monetize,” she said.
“We plan to take the time and energy devoted to sports and put it into Arkansas Business’ print and online products.”
The new version of ArkansasBusiness.com launched Friday and continues ABPG’s investment in Internet operations with an all-new design and publishing platform, custom built by FLEX360, ABPG’s Web design subsidiary.
A key feature of the new ArkansasBusiness.com is that it is optimized for use on smartphones and tablets, including iPad.
“It’s no secret that mobile is the new frontier in reaching new and existing readers,” Lance Turner, ABPG’s interactive editor, said. “Our analytics show ArkansasBusiness.com visitors increasingly coming from mobile platforms, including iPhone and iPad. So we knew we had to redesign ArkansasBusiness.com expressly for those devices.”
The new site also includes a newly designed Jobs section, which allows job seekers and employers to post résumés and job openings for free. And there are new editorial features, including the Whispers Blog and Trends & Analysis, which collects in-depth economic and political analysis.
ABPG launched Arkansas Business, a weekly newspaper covering business in Arkansas, in 1984. It launched the ?rst version of ArkansasBusiness.com, which publishes free daily business news and the free Daily Report e-newsletter, in 2000.
ArkansasBusiness.com reaches more than 100,000 business professionals and delivers more than 750,000 requested e-newsletters each month.